Dragons: Thora's Story
by Avatar Emerald
Summary: Thora, daughter of the late Osvald the Agreeable, now lives under the iron fist of her deranged brother, Dagur. Just when she believes she will never be free of her fate, a recent trip to Berk for a Peace Treaty gives her hope. As Thora fights to change her destiny, she will also find the courage and determination to save both her tribe and Berk from her own brother.
1. Chapter 1: Twinsanity Part 1

**Dragons**

**Thora's Story**

**I remember Dagur mentioned having a sister in the Defenders of Berk episode, "The Night and the Fury". So I thought it would be interesting if she was introduced in the series. What would her story be? As a fan of the series, I decided to try a possible story.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own "Dragons: Riders/Defenders of Berk" or "How to Train Your Dragon", I am merely exploring an alternate story.**

**With that said, let's begin!**

* * *

**Twinsanity: Part 1**

After a day of training at the Dragon Training Academy, Hiccup and Toothless soon began lumbering up to the house for a bite to eat. Just as the young Viking was about to open the door, he heard two familiar voices arguing back and forth.

"Argh, suck in your gut, Stock!" Gobber's voice said gruffly.

"Agh, it's sucked, Gobber!" Stoick's voice replied, strained. "It doesn't suck anymore than this!"

Hiccup opened the door and saw Gobber trying to help Stoick get a special belt on. Only the belt looked a little too small.

"Ah, the ceremonial belt." Hiccup shrugged. "Is it that time again?"

The young boy walked into the house with Toothless following.

"Yep." Stoick gasped for air as Gobber tried to tighten the belt. "Tomorrow is the annual treaty signing with the Berserker Tribe."

"They gotta change that name." Gobber said casually. "When your Chief's Osvald the Agreeable and you haven't been to war in fifty years…"

"Oh, please tell me he's not bringing that lunatic kid of his." Hiccup moaned.

"Dagur?" Gobber replied. "Oh, he'll be here. And so will Thora most likely."

"His sister, I have no problems with." Hiccup rolled his eyes. "In fact, if anything, she has my sympathy. But I guess I'll still have to keep Dagur out of trouble."

"Actually, I have a more important job for you." Stoick said. "You get to hide all the dragons."

The moment the chief mentioned "dragons", Toothless looked at Hiccup with confusion. The young Viking glanced at the Night Fury and raised an eyebrow, sharing his friend's sentiment.

"From Osvald the Agreeable?" he questioned. "Why?"

"Hiccup," Stoick said, "just because we've had peace with them for fifty years doesn't mean they still can't go…well…"

"Berserk?" Gobber finished.

"Exactly." Stoick replied. "The dragons could be seen as an aggression. Better blissful than bloody, I always say."

Stoick briefly chuckled at his own joke.

"And the last thing we want is another Berserker skirmish." Gobber said, serious. "They tend to play for keeps."

"Just hide the dragons, son." the chief ordered.

Hiccup let out a sarcastic sigh before turning to Toothless.

"Well, c'mon bud," he gestured, "let's get the others."

* * *

A few hours later, Hiccup, Astrid, Snotlout, and Fishlegs, along with their dragons, had gathered all the other dragons on Berk and began herding them toward the caves behind the Island.

"Is Dagur coming?" Snotlout asked. "He's so cool."

" "Cool"?" Hiccup said in near-disbelief. "Last time he was here, he used me as a knife-throwing target."

"That guy should be locked up in a cage." Astrid scowled.

"That's what he did to me." Fishlegs said. "He wouldn't let me eat for three days."

"Yeah," Snotlout laughed, "you're just lucky Thora found you and got you out."

"I still can't believe those two are even related." Hiccup shrugged. "Thora's nothing like Dagur."

"Look out!" Astrid suddenly exclaimed. "Incoming Zippleback!"

Hiccup looked down and saw a bright green Zippleback fly out of formation. It quickly flew past the riders and back toward Berk.

Hiccup's eyes widened when he realized that dragon was Barf and Belch.

"Where's Ruffnut and Tuffnut?" he quickly asked.

The boy then face-palmed, remembering that during Dragon Training the Twins had a huge argument. Apparently, they were still mad at each other.

"Never mind," he replied. "We gotta get that Zippleback before the Berserkers…"

Before Hiccup could finish his sentence, the sound of a horn echoed from the docks of the town.

"Are here." Astrid frowned.

"Ugh, terrific." Hiccup groaned. "Guys, you get that Zippleback. I have to go greet Osvald with my dad."

* * *

After leaving Toothless in a safe place, Hiccup ran down to the docks where the main ship of the Berserker fleet was coming to a halt. At the end of the pier was his father along with Gobber.

When Stoick heard the sound of footsteps, he turned and quickly motioned to his son to move it along.

"Hurry, Hiccup." he ordered. "Osvald is here."

The boat came to a stop and two large Berserker soldiers lowered the gangplank. Then one carrying a double headed spear came forward and said in a strong voice:

"Presenting the high chief of the Berserker tribe: cracker of skulls, slayer of beasts, the great and fearsome…"

"Osvald the Agreeable?" Gobber raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Dagur the Deranged!"

To Stoick, Gobber, and Hiccup's shock and dismay, Dagur stepped forward.

The new Berserker spat to the side before turning to the group and sneering at them. Hiccup then only had a second to react as Dagur drew a small knife and threw at his head. He ducked and it barely missed him, but only by an inch.

Hiccup looked back at the ship and saw a young girl, just a few years older than him, walk forward and stand behind Dagur.

Her dark red hair was braided up and hung over her right shoulder in a side-ponytail. She wore a forest-green, short-sleeved tunic with white leggings, brown boots, and a leather vest fastened up to her neck. She also had a leather brace laced up to her elbow on each arm, leaving her upper arms bare. Around her waist were a sheathed sword and a small hip-pouch.

Her olive green eyes stared right at Hiccup with no emotion. Her face was just blank.

It was Thora.

* * *

Thora glanced at Hiccup as she followed Dagur down the gangplank. She didn't hate Hiccup by any means, but something about him seemed…different. And it wasn't just the fact he now had a metal leg.

The young girl immediately turned her attention to Stoick as the Chief of Berk spoke to her brother.

"Dagur, where's your father?"

"My father has been…retired." Dagur answered.

Thora's eyes narrowed for a moment and let out a short huff. That was a blatant lie and she knew it. However, she kept her mouth shut.

"He lost his taste for blood." Dagur continued, sounding more malicious. "I, on the other hand, am_ starving._"

The deranged Viking chuckled for a moment, making Thora cringe even more. Dagur's eyes then darted around suspiciously.

"So…where are you hiding them, Stoick?"

"Hiding what, Dagur?" Stoick answered, masking his alert by the question.

"Do I look stupid to you?" Dagur snapped in an irritated voice.

"Trick question." Gobber whispered to Stoick. "Don't answer that."

"We both know what's going on here." Dagur haughtily stepped forward, tossing an axe he had been carrying. "I have it on excellent authority that you're amassing an army of dragons."

" "Excellent authority"?" Stoick questioned, slowly becoming concerned about the interrogation. "And who would that be, Dagur?"

"Never mind." Dagur shrugged before saying in a smug tone. "Just know that if I find it to be true, then my armada will attack with the force of fifty thousand brave Berserker soldiers!"

The soldiers on the boat began to gruffly cheer at the mentioning of an attack.

"Stand down, Dagur." Stoick calmly replied. "There won't be any need for the armada. Now let's get to the treaty."

It was then that Thora lost interest in the conversation between the chiefs.

A small movement caught her eye and she saw Hiccup make a dash back down the docks towards the village. By the way he was running she could tell he wasn't just trying to get out of talking to Dagur. He was defiantly up to something.

The girl followed Dagur off the gangplank and slowly walked a few paces away from the group, making sure to stay out of their line of vision. Still making sure no one was watching, she ran down the docks after the little Viking.

Of course, Dagur didn't notice her run off. He never paid attention to her. As far as he was concerned, she was mostly invisible: not meant to be seen nor be heard unless he wanted to take his anger out on someone.

And for Thora, that was perfectly fine. In fact, she considered her ability to blend in and move around almost invisibly to be a talent of sorts.

* * *

Hiccup, unaware of a follower close behind, franticly ran back through the town, searching for the other riders.

"Oh, this is bad, this is bad. This is really bad." He mumbled to himself.

Suddenly, Astrid rushed out from between two houses, grabbed Hiccup's arm, and pulled him back. Thora darted behind one of the houses and carefully crept up to the corner.

"Hiccup, we have a problem." Astrid said, sounding concerned.

"You're telling me." Hiccup replied, still winded. "Dagur's the new Berserker chief!"

"What?!"

"Yeah, his father "retired"!"

Once again, Thora gritted her teeth and clenched her fists at the phrase.

"More like he was _usurped!_" she bitterly whispered under her breath.

"And he thinks we're hiding dragons." she heard Hiccup concluded.

"Well, we kind of are." Astrid stated, making Thora's eyes widen a little. "Which brings us to our next problem."

Hearing a small pause, Thora pressed herself up against the house and peeked around the corner. She saw the two teens looking down at the ground where a trail of Zippleback tracks were laid out.

"Barf? Belch? Here?!" Hiccup voice sounded strained.

Grunting and slurping noises immediately followed Hiccup's statement. From where she was, Thora couldn't really see what was making the sounds. All she could see were Hiccup and Astrid running off and disappearing behind another house.

"So Berk does train dragons." Thora silently thought out loud. "And I bet the story about Hiccup fighting the Red Death is true, too. But if that is the case, then that would mean…"

Suddenly, Thora felt hot air brush against her back and she froze like a statue. She heard a loud snort and her heart began to race. There was something behind her. And by the sound of it, something big!

She slowly turned her head and what she saw made her draw in a sharp breath of air. She fell backwards and scrabbled up against the house as a large, black-scaled creature growled threateningly and crept closer until his face was just a few inches away from her own. Its bright, threatening green eyes stared straight into hers, as if searching through her very soul.

A large Night Fury had her trapped!


	2. Chapter 2: Twinsanity Part 2

**Twinsanity: Part 2**

Thora swallowed hard as the Night Fury moved in closer. Her pulse raced faster and her chest heaved. She had never encountered a dragon of this magnificence before. Despite being terrified, she also felt a sort of reverence at the sight of this creature.

"H-Hey, Night Fury." she stuttered.

The dragon growled slightly as the girl spoke, causing her to flinch.

"E-Easy, boy!" she gulped, "Uh, y-you are a boy, right?"

To her surprise, the Night Fury's face slightly softened. However, it still stared at her with suspicion, as if it was waiting for her to say something that it wanted to hear.

"I'm not gonna hurt you." the human said cautiously.

The dragon became just a little less tense.

"My name is Thora."

The moment she mentioned her name, the pupils in the dragon's eyes went from piercing slits to soft, round shapes. It purred for a second and stepped back. Thora sat dazed for a moment before lifting herself up, using the house for support as she got her feet. She looked at the dragon with disbelief.

Why did this Night Fury back off suddenly? And why did he look like he trusted her now?

"Um, have we met?" Thora asked, stupefied.

The dragon purred again and walked up to the Berserker shield-maiden. Thora, on the other hand, stepped back. As she looked at the Night Fury, she noticed that one of his tail fins was red with the image of a white skull on it while the other was as black as the rest of him. She also saw that this dragon was wearing a very sophisticated saddle. On each side were two different foot pedals. The one on the right looked like it was made to secure a regular foot, but the left one looked narrower, as if there was only a special contraption that could fit into it.

"Wait a minute," she mumbled, "are you…"

It was at that moment Thora heard the sound of Dagur's voice.

"Boring." he moaned. "I want to see the dragon killing things!"

"Follow me." Stoick's dull voice followed.

Thora and the dragon turned sharply in the direction where the voices came from. The girl drew in a sharp breath when she realized he was coming past their way.

"C'mon! We gotta hide!" she ordered.

Thora and the Night Fury ran away from the armory and behind another house. The next thing she knew, a large Zippleback rounded the corner and nearly ran her over. The Night Fury snarled at the dragon as the dragon raced past them.

"Barf Belch! Come back here!"

Suddenly, Thora felt something collide with her, causing her to stumble for a moment. When she turned around, she saw the scrawny Viking on the ground on his back.

"Hiccup?!" she exclaimed.

At the sound of the voice, Hiccup's eyes widened and he sat up quickly. When he saw who had run into, his face went pale.

"Thora?! W-What you doing here?!"

"I was about to ask you the same thing." Thora replied.

"Uh, look…" the young Viking stuttered getting to his feet, "this isn't what it looks like. I-It's just one dragon after."

"You mean the Zippleback or the Night Fury?" the girl crossed her arms.

"Uh…I don't know what you're…"

"Hiccup," Thora said, "I know about the dragons. And I think I met yours."

From behind the Berserker shield maiden, the Night Fury walked up from behind her and over to the Berkian.

"Toothless?!" Hiccup exclaimed.

"Toothless, huh?" Thora shrugged. "So that's his name."

"Oh gods," Hiccup groaned before desperately saying, "Thora, listen, I know this looks really awkward."

"You're darn right." Thora responded dryly.

Hiccup placed his arms protectively on Toothless's head, shoving him back a ways. The Night Fury stood his ground, but he could also sense his rider's urgency. However, he couldn't understand why. Hiccup said so himself that Thora wasn't like Dagur. And from what he had seen of her, she didn't pose as a threat.

"But we aren't raising an army of dragons!" Hiccup said.

"I know," the girl replied, "and don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone."

"I mean, this just…"

Hiccup paused for a moment and blinked. Did Thora say what he thinks she said?

"Wait, what did you say?"

"I said I'm not going to tell anyone." Thora grinned.

Toothless purred at the Berserker girl. He could see there was no dishonesty or evilness in her eyes. She could be trusted.

"But…what about Dagur?" Hiccup asked. "He is your brother after all."

"I'm painfully aware of that." Thora said as her face changed into an expression of irritation. "And it'll be best for everyone's sake if he doesn't know. Now are we going to stand here and talk or are going to get that Zippleback out of sight before another Berserker sees it?"

"Oh, right!" Hiccup slapped his forehead before running away with Toothless and Thora following.

The group found the runaway dragon climbing up the back of the armory as if it was looking for something. Toothless didn't hesitate for a second. He immediately grabbed the tails of the Zippleback and began to pull. The dragon grunted and squawked in defiance and tried to get out of the Night Fury's jaws.

"What is that commotion?" Dagur's voice came from inside the armory.

Both Hiccup and Thora froze.

"What commotion?" Gobber's voice immediately followed.

"That growling sound." Dagur said, almost tauntingly. "It sounds like…a dragon."

"Oh, no." Thora groaned. "Hiccup, you and Toothless get that Zippleback out of here. I'll keep Dagur busy."

Bracing herself for what was coming, Thora quickly ran around to the front just in time as her brother walked out of the building, slamming the doors as he did. She skidded to a stop right in front of him, almost knocking him down. Knowing she had a secret to keep, she quickly put on the façade she had to use when she around the new Berserker "chief".

"Thora," Dagur said rather casually, "there you are. Where have you been?"

"Oh, just around." the girl replied dully.

"Well, did you happen to see any trained dragons?" the Berserker chief asked suspiciously.

"No." Thora shrugged. "Stoick was telling the truth."

"Then what was that sound from before?" Dagur raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't hear anything." Thora replied.

Her brother stared at her for a moment in suspicion before shrugging.

"Well, pity you missed the tour, sister." Dagur pushed her aside. "They have some really nice, sharp weapons here. A shame they have no blood-stains on them."

"Well, you know, Dagur." Thora scowled. "Not all of us are as ruthless as you are."

"I know." the deranged Viking grinned. "But then again, Stoick is just as much of a coward as our father used to be."

Thora clenched her fists and her she scowled harder, forcing her to show her teeth like an angry dragon. Dagur insulting her was one thing, but when he starts insulting Osvald AND Stoick, he is really crossing the line!

"Stoick is a good chief!" she protested. "And so was our father! And the only reason you…"

Before Thora could finish her sentence, Dagur drew his sword and whipped around, pointing the tip just inches away from her neck.

"Say it," he growled threateningly, "and it will be the last thing you ever say!"

"Would you really waste me right here?" she glared, still feeling nervous about being at sword-point. "Everyone will see. And you won't be able to escape this time."

"Or I could say another Berkian did it." her brother grinned maliciously. "Then that would be the perfect excuse to go the war against Berk. That would also force them to bring their dragons out for battle."

Before Dagur could react, Thora immediately drew her sword and knocked his blade away with a loud "CLANG". She then jumped back and braced herself in a fighting stance.

"You wanna go toe-to-toe with me right now?!" her eyes narrowed.

If Dagur wants to use her destruction as an excuse for war, then he's got another thing coming!

Dagur glared at his sister for a moment. He then sneered and put his sword back in its sheath on his back.

"Na, you're not worth it." He said with a strong voice of egotism. "You're too soft, you avoid combat, and you disgrace the name of our tribe. We're supposed to be strong and vicious. But you're just like our father: weak and a coward."

Thora just glared at her brother as those words cut through her like a knife.

"Face it, sister," Dagur continued, "No matter how hard you try, you'll never catch up with me."

The two siblings stood there as animosity rose between them again. This wasn't the first time Dagur insulted Thora like this, and she was sure that it wasn't going to be the last either. Although she tried time and time again to comfort herself by saying he was wrong about her, the more he said those offenses, the more she started to believe them.

It was mostly because of these insults that she preferred to be neither seen nor heard.

However, before their intense starring contest was over, Stoick and Gobber coming out of the armory and broke the tension.

"Ah, Thora." Stoick said with a pinch of concern in his voice. "Where have you been?"

"Just around." Thora answered bitterly, putting her sword away.

"Well, you're just in time." Gobber interjected. "We were about to have supper and sign the treaty afterward."

"Can't wait." The girl grumbled.

"Then to the Great Hall, everyone." Stoick ordered.

The group began to follow the Berkian chief.

After they had left, Astrid stepped out from behind the armory. She met up with Hiccup and he told her to keep watch as he and Toothless tried to get the Zippleback away. She arrived in time to see Dagur threaten and hurl insults at Thora.

Now she could see why most of the time that Berserker shield maiden was so gloomy all the time. Thora wasn't just ignored by Dagur, but when he did notice her, he would rip her apart with words.

"You're not weak, Thora." Astrid whispered to herself.

Suddenly remembering the situation at hand, the Berkian shield maiden immediately ran back around the building to help Hiccup in getting the Zippleback under control.


	3. Chapter 3: Twinsanity Part 3

**Twinsanity: Part 3**

Thora picked at her food with her fork, having lost her appetite. She stared at the plate with a blank face as she thought about the events that had happened a few minutes ago.

She was still having a hard time believe she came face-to-face with a real live Night Fury. He was so terrifying, yet so majestic at the same time. And on top of that, learning that he was Hiccup's dragon was a bit of a surprise. The little Viking wasn't much bigger than a log, yet he rode the back of a powerful dragon.

As she continued to ponder this, she slowly began to realize how much Hiccup had changed since the last time she saw him.

Last year, Dagur relentlessly began throwing knives at the poor Viking for some kind of target practice. Although Hiccup tried telling Dagur to stop, he didn't do much to stop him from torturing him. Then again, what could he do? Dagur was bigger and stronger than Hiccup was then.

It wasn't until the deranged Viking cornered Hiccup and Thora stepped in the way that Dagur stopped. Mostly because their father showed up just in time and gave Dagur a harsh scolding that ended with him being confined to the ship for the rest of the trip.

Thora remembered Hiccup's face when Dagur had him cornered. He looked so scared and weak, something that the Berserker shield-maiden could understand. However, although he looked afraid when Thora discovered the dragons, he didn't have the same fear that she saw last year. He looked and acted…braver.

As she thought of this, she noticed a movement out of the corner of her eye and looked up. Hiccup had just entered the Great Hall and walked over to his place next to his father. Thora lowered her face, but still kept her eyes on the young boy as his father leaned over and asked him a question. Hiccup whispered something that Thora couldn't hear, but she had a feeling it had something to do with that Zippleback they tried to hide earlier.

And judging by the distressed look on his face, Thora suspected that they didn't succeed in hiding it.

Suddenly, Dagur stood up and raised his mug.

"A toast," he proudly stated, "to death in battle!"

Gobber then immediately stood up and raised his mug, proclaiming:

"To your father!"

Everyone else then stood up and raised their drinks and said in unison:

"To Osvald!"

Thora couldn't help but grin as she saw these people honor her father. At least they appreciated him, unlike her brother, who immediately became disgusted and plopped right back down in his seat.

"Fine, whatever," he said before whining, "To Osvald, to Osvald, to Osvald! Bladdity, Bladdity, Blah!"

He then scowled angrily and stapped his piece of cake with his knife. Thora coiled away at the action, feeling her heart skip a beat and then beat even harder. She then swallowed hard and took a deep breath. Although Dagur behaving immature and violent wasn't unusual for him, the look on his face triggered a brief memory, and a painful one at that.

But she couldn't let anyone see her reaction. If they did, then she would be dead meat later. So she concealed her emotions again as best she could.

"Well, on that cheery note," Gobber tentatively said, "shall we sign the treaty and send you on your way?"

"Great idea." Dagur stood up again. "Let's sign that treaty. Bring us the dragon's blood!"

"Uh," Hiccup said, disturbed, "did you say "dragon's blood"."

"Yes, he did." Thora mumbled to herself, lowering her head in shame.

Stoick chuckled with concealed nervousness for a moment and then stood up.

"Don't be ridiculous, Dagur." he said. "Your father and I haven't sign the treaty in dragon's blood for years."

"Why would that be a problem, Stoick?" the Beserker asked suspiciously. "Unless, of course…you don't kill dragons anymore."

Stoick paused for a moment and Thora bit her lip. She knew Stoick was clever enough to hide the truth; she was worried about how long he could hide it.

"We still kill dragons." the chief of Berk finally said confidently.

"The problem is," Gobber interjected, "we've killed so many, there isn't a dragon within two hundred miles of here."

Suddenly, the doors of the Great Hall burst open. Everyone turned around quickly and saw a Zippleback dragon fly in, roaring viciously.

"Except that one." Gobber quickly stated.

Thora gasped in horror when she saw that it was the same Zippleback from before. The dragon ran one lap around the room before racing out the Great Hall and taking off.

"The Zippleback!" Dagur shouted almost joyously. "It's a sign! A head for each chief!"

The madman suddenly grabbed Stoick and shook him.

"OHHHHH!" he laughed manically. "It's going to be amazing!"

Dagur then grabbed a knife and leapt up on the table and declared:

"Tonight, we hunt dragon!"

The Beserkers, except for Thora, all cheered with enthusiasm. Dagur then threw the knife away, just barely missing Hiccup in the processs.

The young Viking flinched as the weapon struck the table in front of him. He then looked up with worry as the Berserkers rushed out of the Great Hall.

Stoick then leaned over to Hiccup and said in a low voice:

"You need to find that Zippleback before he does."

Making sure the others were gone, Thora got up from her spot and rushed over to Hiccup and Stoick.

"Let me help." She said.

The chief of Berk at first looked at the young Berserker teen with an alarmed expression before Hiccup immediately said:

"It's okay, dad, she knows."

The young Viking then stood up.

"Thora, I don't know if that's a good idea. What if Dagur sees you?"

"He won't." the Berserker stated. "I can help you. Just let me."

Hiccup thought for a moment before finally nodding.

"C'mon, let's get others!"

With that, the two teens raced out of the Great Hall.

* * *

_A few hours later…_

Thora gripped Hiccup's shoulder tightly. Since it was her first time flying on the back of a dragon, she was naturally nervous about it for the first time. But the moment they left the ground, and after she got over her nausea, the feeling of being in the sky was exhilarating.

As Toothless and the other dragons flew along with their riders, Thora had almost become overtaken by the power of flight. It was amazing, magical even.

For the first time in a long time, she felt free.

However, her moment of amazement was interrupted by Astrid's voice.

"Hiccup," she said, "you heard Tuffnut. He went to his dark, soggy, alone place. That could be anywhere."

"Not really," Snotlout replied, "that could only be one place."

Upon hearing this, Hiccup, Astrid, and Thora all stared at the Monsterous Nightmare's rider with surprised and annoyed expressions.

"What?" Snotlout raised an eyebrow.

"Why didn't you say something?" Hiccup asked, irritated.

"Why didn't YOU ask?" the buff Viking mocked.

"Snotlout," Astrid glared, "we've been looking for them all day."

"And…"

"AND if you don't tell us right now I'm going to throw you off that dragon!" the Berkian shield-maiden shouted angrily.

"No need to get violent." Snotlout replied in a blasé tone. "He's probably at the Lost Cavern. They used to play "Hide-and-Go-Kill" there when they were kids."

"Okay," Hiccup ordered, "Astrid, you and Snotlout take the south entrance to the cavern. Fishlegs, Thora, and I will take the north."

The groups then divided and flew across the island to the caverns.

* * *

A few minutes later, Thora and her group arrived at the north entrance to the Lost Caverns. They dismounted their dragons and Hiccup grabbed a nearby stick. Toothless gently blew out a small bit of fire and lit the stick up.

"Alright, bud," Hiccup said. "Do your thing: Search!"

The young Viking waved his hand across the entrance. The Night Fury nodded in understanding and wandered into the cave. Thora was amazed by how this dragon responded to his rider. He seemed to know what he was saying even though they weren't speaking the same language.

She figured that it was because the bond between them was so strong that they didn't need to speak in the same language to understand each other.

"I wonder…" she mumbled to herself.

The girl then walked up to Hiccup as the group continued to walk through the caverns.

"Um, Hiccup," she tentatively asked, "can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he nodded, "what is it?"

"You and Toothless: how did you meet?"

"That's a bit of a long story. And I don't think we have time for it right now."

"Okay, fair enough. Then can I ask you something else?"

"Depends on what it is?"

"It's just…well…" Thora nervously licked her lips before taking a deep breath, "do you think…I could train a dragon?"

"Hmm," Hiccup looked down at the ground, "I don't see why not. Aside from the fact that you come from a…well…Berserker tribe that enjoys killing dragons."

Thora let out a small, miserable groan.

"But other than that," the Berkian boy quickly added, "I think it's possible. What kind of dragon did you have in mind?"

"Uh…" Thora took a deep breath before saying:

"A Skrill."

Hiccup stopped for a moment and looked back at Thora with a perplexed expression. The girl bit her lip and wrung her hands together. The look on his face made her feel like she just said something completely insane.

"You mean…the dragon that can attract lightening to itself and redirect it?"

"I know it sounds crazy," Thora rubbed her arm, "but…I've always been fascinated with those dragons. And…if I could train one…if you and the others helped me then…"

"Thora," Hiccup said, "I would like to talk about this more later, but I think we should focus of finding Ruff and Tuff before Dagur finds their dragon."

"Okay." Thora sighed.

The Berkian was right: they had to find the twins before their dragon became Dagur's next unfortunate victim.


	4. Chapter 4: Twinsanity Part 4

**Twinsanity: Part 4**

Thora and her group continued to search the Lost Caverns for any sign of the twins. The longer it took them to find them, the more worried the Berserker girl became. Dagur was merciless when it came to killing dragons. He seemed to take delight in seeing them afraid and pleading for their lives. Whenever a situation like that came up, Thora always walked away. But she could still hear his maniacal laughter and horrible wails from his victims. There were nights where she was afraid to fall asleep for fear of hearing those moans and screams in her nightmares.

But Thora wasn't going to let that happen to this dragon. She was going to save that Zippleback and the other dragons, no matter what it took.

After what seemed like hours, although it might have been only a few minutes, the little group rounded a corner and they spotted a small movement in corner. Hiccup cautiously lifted the torch and squinted.

There was a person over there.

"Tuffnut?"

At first, the sudden light temporarily blinded Tuffnut. When his eyes adjusted, he looked up in surprise. However, his face quickly turned to annoyance.

"Oh, you guys again." He groaned before shouting angrily. "Would you quit following me?!"

Suddenly, from behind the rock Tuffnut was sitting against, a series of other voices echoed through the caverns.

"Ruffnut!" Astrid's voice called.

"Would you quit following me?!" Ruffnut's voice replied irately.

"Did you guys here that?" Hiccup said as he and his group walked toward Tuffnut.

"Duh," Snotlout appeared from behind the rock with a snarky expression, "it's called an echo."

Almost immediately, Ruffnut's face sharply peaked out from behind the corner and Tuffnut turned around. Needless to say, the twins were not happy to see each other.

"What are you doing in my soggy place?!" Tuffnut gruffly said as he stood up.

"This is MY soggy place," his twin sister snapped, "and I'm not sharing it with you!"

"Guys!" Thora quickly spoke up. "Listen, we need to get you to your dragon! It's important!"

Both the twins turned and looked at Thora with confused expressions.

"Wait," Tuffnut asked suspiciously, "how do YOU know about our dragons? Aren't you a Berserker?"

"That's not important right now!" Thora replied firmly. "Right now, your dragon is in real trouble!"

"I'll go." The male twin folded his arms across his chest. He then jabbed a nasty look at his sister. "But NOT with her!"

"I'm not going anywhere with HER either!" Ruffnut sneered at her brother.

"Yeah!" Tuffnut scowled before becoming confused as to what his twin just said. "Wait, what?"

"No," Hiccup interjected, "you don't understand: you BOTH have to go!"

For a moment, the twins glanced bitterly at each other. They then turned away stubbornly and said nothing.

"Guys, listen," the young Berkian boy said, "like it or not, you're connected to each other. And both of you are connected to that dragon. Just like me with Toothless."

"And me with Stormfly." Astrid added.

"Us, too." Fishlegs said as he petted his Gronckle dragon.

Thora, however, remained silent. She let out a small sigh of despair. Hiccup and the others were right about the twins being connected to each other: they're family. And since Dagur is her brother as well as her only living relative, that meant she was still connected to him whether she liked it or not.

It was at that moment Thora wished for more than anything to have a dragon of her own. All she wanted was to have a bond with someone she could trust and protect, something these teen Vikings had with their dragons.

"We can get you another spoon," Hiccup continued, "another dish, another stuffed yak. What we CAN'T get you is another Barf and Belch."

"You should also be glad that you guys can at least count on each other." Thora spoke up. "Don't take your relationship for granted. Because you never know a good thing until it's gone."

Although still a little begrudged about their argument earlier, the two siblings glanced at each other with slightly sorrowful expressions. Finally, the both let out defeated exhales, spat in their right hands and shook. Of course, the then banged their head together, causing a loud "CLANG" as their helmets collided.

"You know, I did spit a little more on my hand." Tuffnut smirked.

"Okay, let's go!" Hiccup clapped his hands together. "We're out of time!"

"So why is this so important, anyway?" Tuffnut asked.

"The Berserkers are hunting down you're dragon to use its blood for ink." Snotlout casually replied.

Every eye turned to the Viking with horrified expressions. However, Hiccup looked at Snotlout with an irritated expression. Thora cringed and face-palmed herself.

"What?" Snotlout stupidly asked. "Is that NOT what's happening."

"Let's just go get that Zippleback, okay?" the Berserker shield-maiden groaned.

* * *

With Tuffnut riding with Snotlout on Hookfang, Tuffnut with Astrid on Stormfly, and Thora with Hiccup on Toothless, the Dragons Riders began to quickly and carefully scan the landscape below them, searching for any sign of Barf and Belch.

As they crossed the center of the island, they notice trees rustling up ahead. Immediately, the wondering Zippleback emerged from the thicket and began to search the open area, looking for its riders.

"There they are!" Thora pointed.

"Okay, we need to get the twins down there!" Hiccup ordered.

However, to everyone's horror, before they could reach the stray dragon, out of the bushes came the Berserker hunting group. They immediately surrounded the dragon and threw ropes around each neck, pinning them to the ground.

"No!" Tuffnut shouted.

Thinking quickly, Hiccup dove down into the trees and the other dragons followed him. They carefully perched themselves onto the strongest branches.

"What are we doing here?!" Tuffnut protested in a hushed voice. "We have to get our dragon!"

"We can't afford to be spotted by the Berserkers!" Thora stated.

The girl then turned and gasped in terror as she saw Dagur approach the dragon. She could tell by the way he was walking that was he was preparing himself for the kill. He always frightened her when he did that. It especially frightened her now because he did that same walk when he…

Terror gripped Thora and she involuntarily ducked her head down, digging her face into the back of Hiccup's shoulder.

"Thora!" Hiccup exclaimed silently.

"I can't watch!" the girl shivered. "I just can't!"

Hiccup glanced back just as Dagur drew his sword and pointed it at the Barf's head. But just as he raised it up and was about to bring is down, Stoick stepped in and blocked the blow with a sword of his own.

"How DARE you!" Dagur threateningly glared at he Berkian chief.

"How dare YOU!" Stoick rebuked. "We're supposed to slay this dragon together, and that's what we'll do: in the arena, where dragon killing is done."

Dagur slowly lowered his sword and then slid it back into the sheath on his back.

"To the arena!" he ordered.

As the Berserkers dragged the bound dragon back to Berk, Stoick exchanged a concerned looked to Gobber. The two of them then set out back to the village.

Once everyone had moved away from the clearing, the Dragon Riders emerged from the trees and landed on the ground. They dismounted their dragons and looked at each other with worry.

"The…The chief's not going to let them kill our dragon?" Tuffnut asked.

He and his sister then asked at the same time:

"Is he?"

"He won't have a choice unless we can figure out a plan." Hiccup shook his head.

"I have a plan." Snotlout said proudly. "One word: Annihalate!"

He then did a fist motion with his arm. From behind, the Monstrous Nightmare responded to the action and shot out a stream of fire from his mouth, just grazing Snotlout's helmet and making him flinch.

"Hookfang!" he grimaced.

"Or…not." Astrid rolled her eyes.

"Actually," Hiccup smirked, "that could work."

"What are guys talking about?" Thora asked.

"Just play along, Thora." Hiccup said. "We're going to stage an attack."

Although still unsure of what the other teens were planning to do, the Berserker girl just shrugged. They obviously knew what they were doing; all she had to do was whatever they told her to do.

* * *

Waiting in the corner of the arena, Thora watched with discomfort as Dagur approached the Zippleback. There were only a few Berserkers in the arena and most of them only had spears for weapons.

"I sure hope this works." the girl nervously whispered.

"According to the Treaty," Gobber began, "the killing of the dragon must be…"

Before the blacksmith could finish, Dagur pushed him aside and began to stride up toward the frightened dragon.

"I want the head on the right." he said.

Thora bit her lip and forced herself not to look away. She couldn't look away or else she would miss the signal. Her heart began to race rapidly against her ribs and her breathing became heavy.

"_Steady, Thora!"_ she thought. _"You can do it!"_

When she spotted someone moving, she glanced over and saw that Stoick was walking toward Dagur with his sword raised. Her eyes widened as she realized what he was going to do.

He was going to kill Dagur!

But if he did, that would mean war against between Berk and the Berserkers. And that's EXACTLY what Dagur would want. She couldn't let that happen, but she couldn't let that Zippleback be killed either.

Thora became restless, but resisted the urge to rush out and stop all of this. When she looked up and saw Hookfang begin to climb down the chain that raised the arena mesh up, she immediately sprinted into action.

That was the sign she was looking for, and not a moment too soon!

Just as Dagur was about to cut the Zippleback down and just as Stoick was about to strike her brother down, Thora rushed into the arena and shouted:

"HELP! DRAGON ATTACK!"

Everyone turned and saw the young girl point above them. A Monstrous Nightmare began to climb down toward the arena like a lizard stalking its prey. When he saw his rider from behind make the same gesture as he did before, he turned his attention to a Berserker and spat fire at him. The solider immediately raised his shield and stopped the fire from reaching him.

Hiccup, Astrid, and Fishlegs then joined Thora, rushing in and looking like they were trying to escape from a Deadly Nadder and Gronckle.

"What is going on?!" Gobber asked, confused.

"Gobber, "dragon attack"!" Stoick repeated, trying to get the message across.

When it all clicked, Gobber began to order everyone to evacuate the arena.

All around her, Thora watched, as this controlled chaos broke loose. Knowing she had to make it look even more convincing, the girl drew her sword and pretended to rush at Stormfly.

"Get back, you fiend!" she shouted.

She then glanced over at Astrid, who was hiding behind a wooden fence. The moment they made eye contact, Thora moved her way around Stormfly, making sure she kept her eye on her, and stopped right in front of Astrid. She glanced back for a brief second to see the Berkian sheid-maiden make a whip-like motion with her finger.

Stormfly responded to the signal and whipped her tail around. Thora vaulted over it and summersaulted on the landing.

She then glanced over and saw Dagur approach Barf and Belch again, only this time, the dragon was free from his bonds and was fighting back. She turned around to see the twins in a hidden area directing their dragon with synchronized hand signals for each head of the Zippleback.

They managed to knock her brother way with a tail-whip and began to make their way toward the gate. Dagur let out an angry cry, grabbed a nearby spear, and threw it. Just as it about to pierce Barf and Belch, Toothless, without his saddle, flew in and grabbed the spear in his mouth. He landed, spat the spear out of his mouth, and turned to face Dagur.

"A Night Fury!" the Berserker stared in amazement. "They DO exist."

Toothless growled viciously at Dagur, bracing himself for an attack.

"Back, you…fiend, you!" Hiccup rushed over with a large shield and small dirk. "You'll not harm my friend…Dagur."

Thora couldn't help but let out a small snicker as Hiccup shield-bashed Dagur in the face. The boy then gave a signal with his left hand just before her brother shoved him away. Toothless, responding to the hand motion, prepared a plasma blast in his mouth. Just as he fired it, Hiccup pushed Dagur out of the way and toward the door, just barely missing the shot.

"Please, Dagur!" Hiccup pleaded, knocking the Berserker to the ground. "Save yourself!"

Hiccup then rushed at Toothless and the Night Fury pounced on him. Stoick came up from behind Toothless and tried to pull him off of Hiccup by the tail. The Berkian boy used his shield to "defend" himself from the dragon's attack as the Toothless "pinned" him to the ground.

"You owe it to your people!" Hiccup shouted.

Dagur quickly got up and ordered all the Berserkers to get back to the boats.

"What about the Treaty?" Gobber quickly asked.

Dagur looked back for a minute, then at the dragon fight in the arena. The Monstrous Nightmare began to narrow in on him, as if warning him to go away.

"Consider it signed!" Dagur shouted before running off with the rest of his army.

As Thora raced out after her brother and her tribe, she glanced back at the others and gave a brief grin of victory as well as a thumbs-up.

They had succeeded in saving the dragon and avoiding war.

"Good luck, guys!" she whispered. "And see you later!"

* * *

After the Berserkers had set sail for home, Dagur walked up to his sister.

"So, I guess Berk doesn't train dragons after all."

"And I guess that story about the Red Death was made up, too." Thora rolled her eyes.

"Still, there was something good that came out of all this." Dagur grinned mischievously.

"And…what would that be." The girl nervously asked.

"My dear Thora," her brother replied, "we just encountered a Night Fury."

"So…"

"So, that means that there must be others out there."

"That's nice. Well, now that our business with Berk is done, it'll be nice to finally get back home, right?"

"Oh, Thora, we're not going home just yet."

Thora sharply turned and looked at her brother.

"What?"

Dagur walked over to Captain Vorg.

"Vorg, tell the crew to pass the message along that we will be heading to Dragon Island." He ordered. "We're going to be doing some dragon hunting."

"But sir…"

Before Vorg could protest anymore, Dagur gave him an "evil eye" look.

"Yes, sir!"

The Captain immediately began to pass the message along.

"Dagur, what are you doing?" Thora asked, hiding her worry.

"We're taking a little hunting trip." Dagur maliciously replied. "We're going to Dragon Island to find a Night Fury and kill it."

"What?!"

Thora quickly bit her lip, hoping that he didn't catch any notice of her outburst.

"I can already imagine wearing its skull as a helmet!" Dagur grinned evilly as he walked away. "OH HOOOO! This is going to be amazing!"

Thora fearfully turned and looked back at Berk as it faded on the horizon. She gripped the sides of the boat so hard that her knuckles began to turn as white as her face. She began to realize that if Berk's secret was discovered, her friends would be in danger and there would be nothing she could do about it.

She was already burdened with not revealing Dagur's horrific crime; she didn't need this pressure now.

Really, all she could do at this point was hope they could keep up this charade and not encounter Dagur for a long time.

"Hiccup, Toothless, all of you:" she mumbled softly to herself, "whatever you do, do NOT go to Dragon Island!"


	5. Chapter 5: Night and the Fury

**Night and the Fury**

Thora sat on the railing of the boat, munching on a delicious red apple and staring up at the full moon. It had been several weeks since Dagur had ordered the tribe to Dragon Island. While most of the Berserker tribe would go ashore to hunt during the day with Dagur, Thora and a few others would volunteer to stay behind and mind the armada.

Although the real reason the Berserker shield-maiden wanted to stay behind was because she didn't want to be around her brother when the bloodlust was on him.

"Nice night, isn't it Thora?"

The girl turned to the person who addressed her. It was Captain Vorg.

"I guess." Thora shrugged. "Wish I could say the same for our food stock. I'm starting to eat one apple for each supper now."

"Hmm," Vorg cast his gaze down, "at this rate, we'll have to go back to our home for more provisions."

"If Dagur lets us go back at all." The girl harshly replied, throwing the core of her apple into the water. "He's more concerned about slaughtering dragons than looking after his own tribe."

"Thora, look, I know Dagur isn't…well…he just does things differently than Osvald did."

Thora bitterly looked away and scowled at the horizon.

"Differently?!" she spat. "He has no idea what it means to be chief!"

"Quiet, Thora!" Vorg replied sharply. "You know the punishment for talk of treason."

"You mean the punishment my BROTHER issued?!" the Berserker snapped in a hushed voice. "Besides, I'm just expressing an opinion, not conspiring treason! And if that's a crime then I guess I'm already condemned!"

"Honestly, Thora." Vorg gruffly placed a hand on her shoulder, "don't make things difficult."

Thora let out a deep exhale and down at the ocean with a defeated face.

"Okay, I'm sorry, Vorg. I just…"

The redhead lowered her head, holding it with her hand and bracing her arm on her leg.

"Thora, is there something on your mind?" Vorg asked, concerned.

"Not really."

"C'mon, I've known you since you were a little girl and I can tell when you're hiding something." the Captain folded his arms across his chest. "Now what's wrong?"

"I thought I wasn't suppose to say anything against Dagur?" Thora turned and looked at Vorg with an irritated face.

"As Captain, I'm in charge of following Dagur's orders," Vorg replied, "but as your guardian, I'm in charge of protecting you. And I promise whatever you tell me will not leave this conversation. Fair enough?"

Thora glanced down at the lightly rushing waves against the boat. She certainly had no intention on telling Vorg about Berk training dragons. She made a promise to Hiccup, Toothless, and the other dragon riders that she would not reveal their secret, and she was going to keep it no matter what.

Still, there was something she had to get off her chest.

"Okay," Thora finally nodded, "it's about Dagur."

"What about him?"

"C'mon, you've seen him." the Berserker girl groaned. "He an absolute nut-case. Ever since he…father passed away, Dagur has shown multiple times that he only uses the armada and our people to hunt dragons and doesn't care about the Berserker tribe at all."

Thora took a deep breath, trying to steady the sudden racing of her heart. She almost let the other secret slip. Although she hated this secret, if Dagur ever found out she revealed this one, she would be dead in an instant.

"I mean," she continued, "I know he's eldest and by tradition he's meant to be the next chief after father, but even dad could see that he couldn't govern the tribe. He only cares about himself and what he wants. He says he wants to return the Berserkers to their "former glory", but he's really in it for himself."

Thora then hugged herself and frowned.

"I don't want to be selfish, but I don't think I can live like this anymore. There are days where I wish I could just…run away."

From behind Thora, out of range of her peripheral vision, Vorg looked down at one of his pockets on his belt. He opened it slightly, revealing a piece of paper. He stared at it for a few minutes with a very pensive expression. Finally, he took a deep breath and nodded. He then grabbed the girl by the shoulder in firm grip. She sharply turned and looked at him with a surprised face.

"Vorg!"

"Thora," his voice sounded serious and dark, "there's something you need to know."

"What is it?" the girl became nervous at the sudden urgency.

"Listen," the Captain tightened his grip, "what I'm about to tell will put you in danger, but you need to know this."

Thora's heart began to race against her ribs and her breathing began to become heavy. What did she need to know? What was Vorg trying to tell her? And why would it put her in danger?

"You have to run!" Vorg suddenly stated. "Run as far away as you can!"

"What?!" Thora sharply whispered. "Vorg, what are you talking about?!"

Vorg reached for the piece of paper in his in his pocket.

"Thora, your father…"

Suddenly, there was a sharp sound of an explosion on the island behind them. Thora and Vorg both turned sharply around and saw a purple blast of light and something fall off the edge of the cliff. The figure landed on the beach, immediately got up ran across the beach toward the ships.

"DRAGON ATTACK!"

It was Dagur.

"DRAGON ATTACK!"

Thora then spotted movement up in the sky. She glanced up and saw a series of dragons flying away. She didn't need the daylight to see what they were.

"Oh no!" she fearfully whispered under breath.

Those purple blasts from before must have been Toothless. And if Toothless was here, then so was Hiccup. Judging by how Dagur was running back toward the ships, Thora could only guess that the worst had happened.

Berk's secret had been revealed!

Suddenly, Vorg sharply turned back to Thora and quickly whispered.

"Thora, do not tell anyone about this conversation! Your life depends on it!"

"But Vorg," Thora whispered back, "I don't understand!"

"Just don't say anything about this!"

Although she was confused and was slowly becoming afraid, the Berserker shield-maiden sharply nodded.

* * *

The moment Dagur returned to the main ship, Thora's greatest fear had been confirmed.

Her brother WAS confronted by Hiccup and Toothless.

Apparently, Hiccup and his friends were on the island, pretending to be hunting dragons. But the moment Dagur had the Night Fury cornered, Hiccup revealed the secret and fought the Berserker chief off to protect his dragon.

Although Thora was amazed by hearing how Hiccup stood up to Dagur the way he did, she was to busy worrying about the fact that Dagur had discovered the secret of Berk. Still, the girl remained emotionless. She couldn't let anyone see her afraid.

However, she wasn't the only one wearing a façade.

"So Berk does train dragons." Vorg sneered. "I should kill that runt for lying."

"NO!"

Dagur immediately rushed at Vorg and pinned him against the mast, making Thora flinch.

"No one hurts Hiccup!" the Berserker chief growled. "NO ONE…except me!"

He then let Vorg go and turned back to the island and gave a wicked grin.

"And not until after I have his Night Fury. And I WILL have it!"

As the Berserker Armada began to set sail for home, Thora walked to over to the stern of the boat and looked over in the general direction of Berk. She kept her promise, yet the dragons were discovered. Now Dagur would hunt relentlessly after Toothless and possibly Hiccup as well as the other dragon riders. And knowing Dagur, he would probably use this as a perfect excuse to go to war against Berk.

To make matters worse, Thora felt absolutely helpless to do anything about it.

If she only had a dragon of her own, maybe she would be able to do something. But right now, the feeling of being helpless began to eat away at her and threatened to consume her sanity.

No! She had to compose herself!

Hiccup and Toothless may have been discovered, but they weren't harmed…yet. But if Hiccup could train a Night Fury and defeat a Red Death, then he may have a chance against her brother…hopefully.

The most Thora could do to help them right now was to put on a show and remain the quiet girl that Dagur expected her to always be.

Right now, it was all she could do.

"Hiccup," Thora whispered to herself, "you better be ready for what's coming."


	6. Chapter 6: A View to a Skrill Part 1

**A View to a Skrill Part 1**

_Several days later…_

Thora, Vorg, and Dagur stood on a longboat. The sky was grey and overcast with both clouds and nightfall as their tribe began to crowd around the ship, eagerly awaiting the news.

"My brothers," Dagur stepped forward and proclaimed, "this is a historic day for the Berserker tribe! After many years and many searches, Captian Vorg has found…a Skrill!"

Like a judge raising an athlete's hand in the air, Dagur gruffly threw Vorg's hand up. The Berserkers on the shore cheered in triumph at the announcement. Some clanged their swords and axes together, adding to the atmosphere of excitement.

"It is such a great occasion…"

Before he continued on with his speech, Dagur harshly twisted Vorg's wrist back. Thora flinched and watched as the Captain's face twisted in pain and he struggled to hold back an outburst of agony.

"I am willing to forgive his failure to bring it to me!"

The Berserker chief then shoved Vorg to the ground and kicked him the back.

"Get up!" Dagur spat.

Thora immediately ran over to Vorg and knelt down beside him.

"I'm alright, Thora." Vorg said painfully through his teeth.

The girl helped the Captain back to his feet as Dagur continued his speech.

"For centuries, the Skrill has represented our strength, our power, our ferocity! As long as "Hiccup" and his little "dragon club" have OUR dragon, we will not rest!"

The roars from the crowd became more and more intense.

"We will take the Skrill out of his frail, little hands, and destroy that Night Fury together!"

Finally, the Berserker tribe erupted into a simultaneous roar that could be heard all the way back to the village. Dagur maliciously grinned at the sight and Thora could almost see his thoughts on how to destroy the dragon riders swirling in his mind.

* * *

_Early the next morning…_

As the Berserker tribe got three ships ready to set sail, Thora wandered over to the bow of the main ship and stared almost helplessly out to the sea. She knew it was a matter of time before Dagur would find an excuse to launch an attack on Berk. And now that the Berkains had a Skrill, he got his opportunity.

To make matters worse, he was also seeking a magnificent creature, only to lock it up and never let it go, just like he does with anything.

"You ready for this, Thora?"

The Berserker shield-maiden glanced over her shoulder at Vorg. She frowned and stared down at the water gently rippling alongside the boat.

"No," she said softly, "but it's not like I have a choice."

"It's going to be fine." Vorg gripped her shoulder. "We'll stop the dragon riders and get that Skrill."

Upon hearing that, Thora whipped around and scowled at her guardian. Vorg stepped back in surprise when he saw her face.

"And watch Dagur capture and destroy something beautiful?!" she snapped. "That's all he's good at!"

"Thora, calm down!" Vorg commanded in a hushed voice.

"No! I've had enough! Dagur's insane and…"

Before Thora couldn't continue her rant, Vorg forcibly cupped his hand over her mouth and practically backed her up into the crested dragonhead on the tip of the bow. The girl squirmed to get out of his grip, but to no avail.

"Listen, Thora!" the man said in a dark voice. "You are walking on a razor's edge with this! If Dagur hears you, there's nothing I can do! If you want to live to see the next day, then I suggest you hold your tongue! Do you understand me, Thora?!"

Narrowing her eyes, the Berserker shield-maiden nodded.

Vorg took his hand away and Thora stumbled forward. It was at that moment that Dagur walked up the gangplank. His confidence and anticipation for battle was unmistakable.

"Vorg," he commanded, "raise the sail! We're heading out!"

As the ships began to sail across the sea, Thora took a deep breath of salty sea air and stared out over the horizon.

"Hiccup, I hope you're ready for what's coming."

* * *

A few hours later, the little fleet of Berserkers finally came across something.

"Dagur, up there!" Vorg pointed.

Dagur and Thora ran over to the front of the ship and leaned over the railing on opposite sides. Just little ways off were a series of black dots that seemed dancing around just above the surface of the water

Thora squinted, trying to bring the scene into focus. When the images grew closer, her eyes widened in horror.

It was Hiccup and the dragon riders, and they were pursuing the Skirll!

Dagur saw them, too. And he didn't hesitate for a moment.

"It's the Night Fury!" he shouted. "Attack!"

Thora whipped around in time to see several Berserkers ready their weapons and lunch their attacks immediately. She then looked back at Hiccup and the others. She wanted to shout, "Hiccup, look out!", but if she did, Dagur would cut her down on the spot. She mustered up as much self control as she could to remain silent.

It was agonizing to watch as the little team of dragon riders were just barely evading the oncoming attacks that seemed to be coming out of nowhere. Finally, Hiccup looked over in their direction and his face changed into horribly alarmed.

"Surprise, surprise, Hiccup!" Dagur laughed dramatically before glaring at the young boy. "Now, get your dainty little hands off my Skrill!"

The Berserkers immediately prepared for another attack. The moment they saw this, Hiccup and the others immediately turned around and began to fly away, occasionally defending themselves by shooting down catapulted boulders or dodging arrows.

When they got out of range and disappeared among the clouds, Thora let out a small, unnoticeable sigh of relief. At least they got away.

"Ha, ha!" Vorg heartily chuckled. "They're running!"

Dagur angrily whipped around and marched up to the Captain. Although Dagur was slightly smaller than Vorg, the man was still intimidated by his chief.

"They're regrouping, you idiot!" he snapped. "That's it, you're relieved of duty!"

The next thing Thora knew, Dagur shoved Vorg aside and he fell off the boat and into the water.

"Vorg!" she shouted.

"Leave him!" Dagur growled. "We have more important things to worry about!"

The Berserker chief then looked up in the sky and stared at the dragon flying around in it.

"My Skrill is glorious!" he said with a twisted happiness. "The legend doesn't do it justice! A dragon that can go head-to-head with Hiccup and his Night Fury! And they will both be mine!"

"Wait, THAT'S why you want the Skirll?!" Thora was dumbfounded by what she just heard. "Just so you can fight Hiccup and the Night Fury?! You honestly are putting your people in danger just so you can get a dragon so YOU can kill another dragon?!"

"Pretty much." Dagur smirked, as if he was okay with the situation.

"You…YOU…!"

"Say anything more," Dagur turned around and glared at his sister, "and you'll be sleeping with the fishes tonight!"

Despite her anger growing, Thora bit her tongue and stepped back.

"That's what I thought." Dagur sneered.

Suddenly, something sped right past them and the next thing anyone knew, one of the ships had caught fire. Thora looked over in the dirction and saw that Astrid and her dragon, Stormfly, had swept in and launched a surprise attack of their own.

Immediately, Snotlout and his dragon flew in from above and set fire to the second boat. Then Fishlegs and his Gronckle came in from the side and attacked the main boat.

Thora ducked down behind the side to avoid getting hit by the Nadder's tail spikes. She looked over to where the Skirll was and saw its silhouette. Just above it was another shadow of a two-headed dragon. She had a pretty good guess that it was the twins. They seemed to be flying in a straight line over the Skrill.

When they stopped, there was a small moment of hesitation before the sky erupted with a huge burst of fire. The Skrill, startled by the attack, began to shoot down towards the ocean.

Thora wanted to see what happened next, but was immediately distracted by Snotlout and Hookfang bombarding their ship, shouting something in gibberish.

She then heard a close sound of rippling water and looked over the side of the boat.

"Vorg!"

With the help of the shield-maiden, Vorg managed to hoist himself back up onto the boat. Thora was about to ask him if he was alright when the sound of thunder caught their attention. They both looked up and saw among the clouds the Skrill chasing the Night Fury.

"Sir, look!" Vorg shouted to Dagur.

Dagur looked in the direction Vorg had pointed and grinned with satisfaction.

"Well, well, it doesn't look like Hiccup will catch my Skrill either."

Thora glared at her brother when he said that.

"The Skrill is NOT YOURS!" she bitterly whispered under her breath.

"Perhaps we should withdraw and come back for the Skrill another day." Vorg suggested, seeing that the dragons outmatched them.

Dagur, on the other hand, paid no attention to Vorg's request. Instead he ordered the fight to continue.

Every fiber in Thora's body wanted to punch that deranged man senseless, but her mind kept screaming to her to control herself. If she started a fight with Dagur now, she would be seen as a traitor and would have nowhere to run.

Still, that didn't keep her from feeling angered about this guy's total disregard for the safety of his people.

Thora looked back up at the sky and saw the Skrill was chasing the twins. She caught her breath when she saw that it shot out a stream of white fire toward them. She winced and waited for the moment the lightning hit them. However, Hiccup and Toothless suddenly flew up from nowhere and shot a plasma blast at the Skrill's attack.

The moment the two shots met, an enormous ball of blue, white, and purple electrical energy exploded and pushed everything within a large radius away, practically knocking them out of the sky.

Thora only had few minutes to react when she saw that Hiccup and Toothless were falling right toward the ship. She quickly dove out of the way, landing hard on her stomach and covered her head. The boat rocked and swayed as the Night Fury smacked right onto the boat.

The Berserker shield-maiden opened her eyes and gasped when saw that she was staring directly into Toothless' face. At first the dragon looked at her with a dazed expression.

"Thora!" Hiccup exclaimed.

"Night Fury!"

Everyone looked over and saw Dagur running directly toward Hiccup and Toothless with his axe in his hand. However, before he reached them, Toothless got to his feet and immediately took off into the sky.

"NO!" Dagur shouted, waving his axe in the air.

He then turned to Thora, who was just getting to her feet.

"You let them get away!" he jabbed a finger at her.

"What was I suppose to do?!" Thora rebuked, stepping back. "I had a Night Fury in my face! He could've easily bitten my head off!"

Suddenly, Dagur swung his axe and point the blade dangerously close to Thora's throat. The girl leaned further back until she felt like she was going to fall off the boat.

"Just don't let it happen again!" he growled viciously.

Dagur lowered his axe and turned to Vorg.

"They're retreating," he stated, "set a course for the nearest island."

Vorg followed his orders and relayed the message to the rest of the fleet.

Thora turned around and watched as Hiccup, Astrid, Snotlout, and Fishlegs fly away on their dragons. She let out a deep exhale, glad they were at least okay.

"Wait?" she looked at the group again. "Where are Ruffnut and Tuffnut? And…where'd the Skrill go?"

* * *

_Sunset…_

As the fleet made its way across the sea, they spotted something on the horizon. As it drew nearer, they saw that it was another Viking ship. Soon, it was close enough that they could see it had the skull of a Monstrous Nightmare on the bowsprit.

It was Alvin the Treacherous!

Normally, the Berserker fleet would've just past by Alvin's ship and not bother him. However, he had acquired something that interested Dagur very much.

The Skrill!

Instead of fighting, though, Alvin simply let Dagur onto his boat.

"Well, Alvin," Dagur smirked, looking at the captured dragon, "I see you've found our Skrill."

"It's not you Skrill, Dagur." Alvin gruffly corrected. "Finders, keepers after all."

"True, but tell me, do you have any knowledge of how to treat this dragon?"

Alvin paused for a moment, only letting out a small huff of frustration.

"You see, Al," Dagur said casually, "the Berserkers have great knowledge of the Skrill, and we both want the same thing: to destroy Berk. So what do you say we put aside our differences for now and team up."

"I know you better than that, Dagur." Alvin said. "You just want the Skrill, right?"

"True," the Berserker chief shrugged, "but you also know that we both want to level Berk to the ground. So we can help each other, right?"

The Outcast stared at Dagur with suspicion for a few moments. Finally, he sharply nodded and the two shook hands. Then orders were then issued that both fleets would return to Outcast Island for further planning.

From where she was, Thora looked at the Skrill with a distressed face. Seeing this powerful, radiant creature bound, captured, and even afraid was enough to make her cry. She fought back her tears for her own sake, but the sight was still painful to look at.

"You shouldn't belong to anyone!" she whispered sadly to herself.

The dragon then glanced over toward the girl and for a brief moment their eyes met. The Skrill seemed to stare at the young Viking for a long time. Although it had a burning hatred toward all Vikings after what he had been through, there was something about this one that seemed to be…different.

Thora's eyes widened as the Skrill's eye locked right onto her. The stare was penetrating, and slightly intimidating, but she couldn't seem to tear herself away from the dragon's gaze. It wasn't like the glare that he gave the other Vikings; it was something totally different. Yet, it felt familiar for some reason.

Since Alvin and Dagur's ships sailed beside each other, the Berserker shield-maiden and the Skrill didn't take their eyes off of each other until they reached the Outcasts' home.


	7. Chapter 7: A View to a Skrill Part 2 1

**A View to a Skrill Part 2 1/2**

Night had fallen and a thunderstorm rattled the sky as Alvin and his people dragged the Skrill into the arena. While everyone watched the dragon writhe and struggle against it's bonds with either amazement or pleasure, Thora stared on in despair. This animal was so amazing, and everyone was treating it like it was some trophy. The sight of this made her heart sink.

As if proud of his work, Dagur stepped forward and grinned.

"The Skrill." He said. "Dragon of my people. So beautiful, so supple, so furious…"

"Bah," Mildew spat as he walked up from behind, "the only thing a dragon understands is a staff to the snout!"

Just as the old man raised his staff to strike, Dagur stuck out his axe and stopped him.

"Touch him with that stick and I'll make you eat it." The Berserker threatened.

Mildew paused for a moment and stepped back.

"You have no idea what you're dealing with, do you?" Dagur sneered. "Because if you did, you'd have this dragon safely out of the storm."

"And why is that?" Mildew snarled.

"He draws his power from lightning, smelly old man."

"Bah, that's nothing but an old dragon's tale."

Suddenly, the Skrill lowered itself to the ground and a lightning bolt stuck it. Thora watched in amazement as the dragon absorbed the power and glared at Dagur. Although the Berserker wasn't looking, he sidestepped out of the way just as the dragon shot out a burst of white fire.

Instead, the bolt hit Mildew and sent him flying backward.

"Man, I love it when I'm right." Dagur smirked.

After he hit the ground and fell over on his back, Mildew jolted up and began to speak in some kind of gibberish. He also had a very dazed expression on his face and appeared to be smoking a little. Thora couldn't help but snicker a little.

However, he attention was soon drawn back to the Skrill as the rest of the Berserkers and Outcasts forced it into a little cage. They then tied it's muzzled almost completely shut and tied it to the back of the cell, nearly forcing it to the ground. She painfully watched as Dagur strode up to it and maliciously grinned at the dragon.

"Not to worry, baby." He said in a twisted, dark voice. "When we get you all harnessed up, you'll be free to strike anyone you want. Or, more precisely, anyone…I want."

Dagur chuckled viciously and the Skrill looked back at him with a hateful stare, releasing some static at the same time.

"The Skrill isn't yours yet, Dagur." Alvin pointed out. "You'll get your prize, but only after you fulfill the terms of our deal."

Dagur, who gave a small face of annoyance, turn around and quickly put on a smile, trying to hide his true intentions. He then walked away, toward the exit of the arena.

Soon after Alvin had walked a good distance away from the cell, Thora cautiously walked over and looked at the Skrill. Once again, their eyes made contact. Although the dragon still showed a sense of hatred, his face softened a little when he saw the young girl. Thora place a hand on the cell bars as tears started to form in her eyes.

"So you're trapped just like me." she softly said. "I'm sorry I can't do more to help you."

Thora then looked around carefully, fished inside her hip-pouch and pulled out a small slab of lamb meat.

"It's no supper," she said, "but it's better than nothing. I wasn't going to eat it anyway."

She carefully tossed the piece of meat into the cell and it landed right in front of the Skrill. Instead of gobbling up the piece, it just slightly growled at it and looked at Thora with suspicion.

"You don't need to worry about me." she calmly stated. "I'm not like them."

At that moment, Thora heard the voices of Alvin and his second-in-command, Savage.

"Remind me again why we're working with this lunatic." Savage said.

"His knowledge of the Skrill and the size of his fleet." Alvin replied. "We need both to make sure we reclaim Berk. After we have, we'll dispose of 'em all."

Thora caught her breath.

Alvin was planning to betray them!

Of course, she should've seen it coming. While the bitter side of her could care less about what happened to Dagur, it was the rest of her tribe she was worried about. On top of that, Berk was going to be under threat by both the Outcast and Berserker fleets.

"What do I do now?" she whispered under her breath.

"Thora!" Dagur impatiently called. "C'mon, we have a meeting to get to."

"Coming." Thora sighed.

As she left, the young Berserker shield-maiden looked back over her shoulder at the Skrill. She smiled a little when she saw it grab the piece of meet in its mouth and managed to swallow it.

* * *

Later, Thora soon found herself standing around Alvin's throne room while he and her brother Dagur discussed their plans to take out Berk. A slowly dying fire in the center of a stone table only lighted the room with a gold and red color. Alvin and Dagur sat on opposite sides of table, and four Berserker soldiers stood stock-still on one side with four Outcast soldiers facing them on the other.

The tension in the air was noticeable by everyone.

"Alright, Dagur," Alvin said, "let's talk strategy."

"Oo, strategy, strategy, I LOVE strategy!" Dagur exclaimed with exaggerated enthusiasm. "You first."

"My fleet will lead…"

"Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah," Dagur stopped the Outcast chief and casually stood up, "let me stop you there, big boy." The Berserker slowly walked over toward his soldiers. "Try this on for size: my fleet, lead by the glorious Skrill, will lay siege to the Dragon Training Arena…"

Dagur suddenly grabbed on of the Berserker by the neck with his arms and began to choke him.

"…and INCAPACITAE HICCUP and his NIGHT FURY…" he stated viciously.

Thora let out a small gasp at the statement and flinched. She knew perfectly well that her brother wanted revenge on Hiccup and Toothless, but it always disturbed her when he brought it up.

Dagur then let the soldier go, who collapsed to his feet, and he continued to explain his plan in a blasé voice.

"…while you and your little fleet of rejects blockade their harbor."

Alvin, however, wasn't too keen on the plan. He slammed his mug down onto the table and stood up.

"I don't think so!" he said as he marched over to Dagur and stood in front of him. "First I get Berk. Then, and ONLY then, do you get the Skrill!"

"Really?" Dagur raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Alvin growled. "Really!"

For a moment, there was a long, strained pause. Finally, Dagur shrugged and said:

"Geez, Al. Don't get your skivvies in a bunch. Fine. We'll do it your way."

Although still suspicious of the Berserker Viking, Alvin turned away and walked back toward his seat, stopping to talk to one of his soldiers. Vorg then went up to Dagur and said to Dagur in a low voice:

"Remind me why we're working with him again."

"Because we want that Skrill." Dagur replied in a low voice, but not low enough for Thora to not hear. "Once we have it, we'll dispose of him."

Thora's eyes widened in shock. She should've known that Dagur was planning to betray Alvin. And for what? The claim to a Skrill and the hide of a Night Fury!

Thora rubbed her hands together, trying to come up with a plan. She couldn't let any of this happen. She wouldn't let her people suffer because of her brother. But what could she do? The only thing she could think of was to set the Skrill free. If it were gone, there would be no alliance. But if she did that, then she would basically be signing her own death warrant.

Besides, she had no way of sneaking out.

"And I was thinking," Dagur grinned, "there are some really, REALLY fun ways we could do that. See…"

Dagur stopped in mid-sentence, because at that instance there was the sound of smacking.

"Who is smacking their food?" Dagur called out. "I HATE smacking! My father used to smack!"

Everyone immediately turned around and Thora's eyes widened when she saw who was munching on a leg of mutton.

"Tuffnut?!" she whispered under her breath. "What's he doing here?!"

Suddenly aware that he had been discovered, Tuffnut looked up in surprise and spat out a piece of the meat.

"Sorry," he casually said, "I hate it when my mouth does that."

The Berkian then pointed to his mouth.

"Cut it out, Mouth!"

He then pointed to his nose.

"Shut up, Nose! Heh, they don't like each other."

Dagur suddenly darted toward Tuffnut and place the blade of his axe at his throat, making the Berkian lead back over the table.

"Who are you?" the Berserker asked suspiciously.

Tuffnut nervously swallowed hard before replying:

"Uh, me? I'm, uh…I'm Buffnut. You know, Buffnut the Berserker."

Thora grinned, trying to prevent herself from laughing.

"You're one of mine?" Dagure asked. "What were you doing back there?"

"Uh," Tuffnut replied, "Well, I was, uh…composing a poem in honor of your new deal with Alvin, and I got hungry, because poetry is very exhausting. You gotta have something every six lines."

"A poem, eh?" Dagur took his axe away. "Let me hear it. If I like it, I won't chop your legs off. Now!"

"Uh, right." Tuffnut stood up. "Yeah, yeah, definitely need those legs for the running and…walking stuff. 'There was once a village called Berk. Run by a big Viking jerk. Blasting him would be thrilling, then you'd go a-skrilling and show us how to be…Berserk?'"

Both Tuffnut and Thora anxiously waited for Dagur to decide it whether he liked it or not. He seemed to find the poem confusing and it wasn't really clear if he liked it or not.

"I would go…a-skrilling." Dagur tapped the handle of his axe with his index finger.

He then looked back at Tuffnut and smirked.

"Ha, I like it!" he said. "You can keep your legs! In fact, yack ribs and burly cakes for my friend, Buffnut!"

Dagur then threateningly turned around and pointed his axe at the Berkian.

"But no smacking, I hate, HATE smacking!"

The moment Dagur put the axe down and walked away, Thora let out a sigh of relief. She then drew the air back in again when Mildew came walking up to the table of food.

Tuffnut saw Mildew at the same moment he saw him. Mildew dropped his piece of cake and cried out in alarm. However, that previous blast from the Skrill still left him talking gibberish. Still, Tuffnut had to keep the suspicion off of himself.

"Oh, what is your village babbler going on about now?" Dagur groaned, feeling the sharpness of his axe.

Thinking quickly, Tuffnut shoved Mildew aside.

"So uh," he immediately said, "did I mention how much I hate Berk? Directions to Berk! North till you smell it, west till you step in it! Am I right people? C'mon!"

Everyone in the room immediately laughed at the joke, even Thora. However, after the initial snicker, she suddenly realized that Tuffnut could actually be of use. Everyone was focused on him doing his routine, and there was no one guarding the door.

This was her chance.

At first, she casually walked around the group from behind toward the exit. When she reached it she slowly opened it up just a crack and slipped right out.

"Thanks, "Buffnut"." she whispered.

She then immediately ran off toward the dragon arena, keeping close to the shadows and avoiding the other guards as much as possible.


	8. Chapter 8: A View to a Skrill Part 2 2

**A View to a Skrill Part 2 2/2**

BANG!

BANG!

The Skrill jerked awake when he heard those sounds. He snarled and looked around his cell. When he caught the sight of movement outside his peripheral vision, he whipped his head and saw that two Vikings standing by the exit of the arena had been knocked unconscious. He then narrowed his vision at the small figure running towards his cage.

It was that girl Viking again.

The next thing the dragon knew, when she reached his cage, she grabbed the metal bars and began to pull it off. The Skrill growled as she did so.

"Quiet!" she said in a hushed voice. "I'm trying to help you!"

The dragon paused and coiled back slightly. Did she say she was trying to help him?

With a loud "CLANG", the girl lifted the gate open. She then carefully walked into the cage. The Skrill growled threateningly and forcibly caused static to emanate from his body.

"Easy, boy!" the girl gently replied. "Just take it easy. I'm not going to hurt you."

However, the dragon became even more unconvinced when he saw her pull a small, sharp object out of her pocket. If it weren't for the rope clamping his mouth shut, he would've either let out a terrifying roar or blasted her with a bolt of lightning. Instead, he squirmed and tried to strike her with his wings.

The Viking sensed his anger and fear and stepped back. She nervously looked over her shoulder for a brief second and then back at the Skrill.

"Easy!" she said. "I'm just going to cut the ropes."

The Skrill gave a skeptical snarl.

"Tell you what," the girl replied, "let's make a deal: don't attack me and I'll set you free."

The dragon glared at the girl for a brief moment. This creature was a Viking. And so far he hadn't had a very good experience with any. These should be the last things for him to trust. However, there was something different about this one. She didn't have the same cunning or villainous stare in her eyes as the ones that captured him did. She had a look of kindness mixed in with fear and loneness.

His eyes then softened slightly and he gave a noticeable nod.

The girl immediately ran to the back and grabbed hold of the robe the bound his tail to a hook in the wall. She cut it and the Skrill felt the bond loosen immediately. He moved his tail slightly as she then cut the robes that were tied around his neck. She cut it then ran to the dragon's face. The moment she cut off the robe muzzling his mouth shut, the dragon shoved her aside and raced out of the cage.

The Skrill flapped his wings for a moment to stretch them out. He then sharply looked around and saw that the exit was wide open. However, he didn't immediately dart for it like he did on Berk.

Instead, he glanced back at the girl.

* * *

Thora stared at the Skrill for a moment. Why wasn't it flying away? It was free; it should be racing out of here as fast at it could.

"Go on!" she commanded. "You're free now! Get out of here!"

The dragon hesitated for a second, but then immediately turned away and race out of the arena. Thora watched the Skrill fly off into the sky and disappear among the sea stacks. She let out a sigh of both relief and gladness. She felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of her soul. She finally did something right.

However, reality snapped back to her. She had to get out of the arena herself. If she were caught, Dagur wouldn't hesitate to kill her.

Thora raced out of the arena. Shortly after she disappeared around a corner, Dagur and a few of his soldiers came walking in. However, his face of confidence soon vanished when he saw the open cage before him.

"THE SKRILL IS GONE!" he roared in anger.

* * *

When she heard that Dagur found out the Skrill had escaped and was going to confront Alvin about it, Thora soon found herself racing down to the docks just in time to see the two chiefs about to engage in a sword and axe fight.

"What did you do with our Skrill?!" Alvin shouted to Dagur.

"It's not yours, Alvin!" Dagur rebuked. "It was ours! It was always ours! Now where is it?!"

"How should I know?! Why would I steal OUR own dragon?!"

"You moved it! Admit it!"

"Well, what were you doing in the arena in the first place!? You were planning to STEAL it?!"

"What if I was?! The Skrill is OURS?!"

Suddenly, Alvin lunged forward and Dagur only had a second to block the oncoming attack with his axe.

"TELL ME WHERE THE SKRILL IS!" the Outcast demanded. "OR I'LL ORDER MY ARMY TO WIPE YOUR TRIBE OUT!"

"BRING IT ON, ALVIN!" Dagur smiled maliciously, enjoying the sound of violence.

Despite the fight going on, Thora looked around fearfully when she saw the Outcasts beginning to advance on her tribe. Her heart hammered against her ribs and lungs. Her tribe was in trouble and it was all her fault. And Dagur wasn't helping things with his lust for battle. She didn't doubt that her tribe could beat the Outcasts, but she didn't want any bloodshed from anyone.

The Berserker shield-maiden finally took a deep breath, leapt onto the one of the boats, grabbed her shield, drew her sword, leapt back over the side of the ship and landed on the docks.

"STOP!"

At that moment, everyone stopped. They then turned and looked at the young Berserker, whose face was very pale, but very determined as well.

"I set the Skrill free!" Thora boldly admitted.

While Alvin looked at the girl with anger and surprise, Dagur's face when very, very dark with unspeakable rage.

From where he was on the docks, Vorg stared at the girl with worry.

"Why would you do that?!" the Berserker chief growled viciously.

"The Skrill doesn't belong to any of you!" the Berserker shield-maiden shouted. "It was meant to fly free!"

"You do realize what this means, Thora!" Dagur marched up to his sister. "You've just committed an act of treason!"

"I know that." Thora prepared herself for an attack. "But I'm not going down without a fight."

"You'll seriously take me on me right now?!"

"I've got nothing to lose!"

Dagur then lunged at Thora. The girl quickly brought up her sword and blocked the attack. She then shield bashed her brother away, knocking him over. She then ran and jumped over him. Just before she landed, Dagur grabbed her ankle, causing her to fall down onto the dock. She hit the metal structure and grimaced as shots of pain hit her chest. She looked over her shoulder just in time to see Dagur raise his axe.

Thora rolled out of the way just as Dagur brought the axe down and kicked him in the face. The Berserker staggered back, rubbing his chin painfully. Thora used the opportunity to get back onto her feet and grab her sword.

After he recovered, Dagur fixed Thora with a hateful scowl and darted towards her. Thora managed to raise her shield up and block the oncoming attack. However, Dagur put all of his weight into the attack and refused to let her escape.

Thora strained, using all of her strength to keep Dagur's attack at bay. However, she felt her limbs beginning to ache and her feet were starting to slip.

"Give up, Thora!" Dagur snarled. "You can't win!"

"I'll never surrender to you!" Thora replied through her teeth.

"If not…"

Dagur then kicked Thora in the stomach, sending her flying back and falling onto the dock. Thora lost a grip on her sword and it spun away from her. She grimaced and curled up into a ball.

"…then at least you may have a place in Valhalla!" Dagur wickedly said.

Thora scowled as Dagur chuckled evily and raised his axe. This was then end and she knew it, but Thora was at least going to go down with dignity and not look away.

At that moment, there was a near ear-piercing shriek and the sound of thunder drawing closer.

The next thing Thora knew, something came down from above and pinned her. Dagur and everyone jumped back and away from the mighty creature that had just landed.

It was the Skrill!

Thora looked up at the creature as its talon foot held her down just enough for her to breathe. She tried to squirm out of its grip, but it just tightened when she tried to.

The Skrill roared viciously and emanated an enormous amount of lightning around its body, expect on the leg that had the little human pinned down. He jabbed its head in every direction, warding off the threat that was around him and Thora.

"My Skrill!" Dagur seemed to smile. "You've returned!"

The Berserker began to approach the dragon. The Skrill scowled viciously and shot out a stream of white fire. Dagur quickly ducked just barely managed to avoid the attack.

The dragon then whipped its tail around and accidently knocked Alvin into the water. When the Skrill saw movement in the water, his protective instincts kicked in even more and he shot out more lightning from its mouth.

Thora gasped in horror when she saw Alvin go under the water just as the lightning hit the surface. For a brief moment, the water erupted with white, static light. When the attacked diminished, all that surfaced from below was a small school of dead fish.

The Skrill roared again at the surrounding threat, tightened its grip on Thora, and then took off to the sky.

Thora let out a small scream as the ground suddenly grew farther and farther away. She gripped the talons of the dragon as it whisked away from the crowd and around the island. The wind violently whipped all around them as the dragon picked up speed.

"HEY! PUT ME DOWN!" Thora shrieked and struggled.

But the dragon didn't let go of the girl until it got a to a rocky plain. It carefully lowered itself to the ground, dropped Thora, hovered around her for a moment, and then gracefully landed in front of the Berserker.

Thora shook her head, got to her feet, and then looked up at the Skrill. She stared in awe as the dragon stared back at her with a strong yet surprisingly gentle face. For a moment, the human and dragon gazed at each other with both curiosity and amazement.

Thora then hesitantly and cautiously raised her right hand toward the dragon. The Skrill slowly lowered his head and placed his nose into her hand, closing his eyes as he did.

Thora's eyes widened in surprise and her pulse began to race again. The dragon's scales were as smooth as metal with a slight, tingly feeling to them.

"Whoa." she whispered.

The Skrill opened its eyes and looked at her again. Thora moved forward slightly and cupped the dragon's head with both hands. The Skrill purred as she did so.

"Hey again." she smiled softly. "Didn't think you'd come back."

"Thora!"

Thora turned around at the sound of her name and saw Hiccup and Toothless flying toward her and the Skrill.

The Skrill's eyes narrowed and he started to growl viciously, preparing for an attack.

"Whoa, easy, boy." Thora quickly said, rubbing his head gently. "I know you guys got off on the wrong foot, but Hiccup's a friend. Trust me."

Hiccup and Toothless landed just as the Skrill lowered itself, still looking at them with suspicion.

"Thora, are you okay?" Hiccup asked. "We saw the Skrill take off with you in it's clutches and…"

"Don't worry, Hiccup." Thora replied. "I'm fine."

"Wait…"

Hiccup suddenly noticed that the Skrill was behaving differently. It wasn't snarling like it usually did. It was also letting Thora touch it and it seemed to be calm about it.

"Thora…the Skrill…did you…"

"I guess so." Thora shrugged.

"But…how?!"

"I don't really know." Thora smiled, scratching the Skrill's head. "I guess I just appealed to his better nature."

Hiccup gave a small, impressed grin.

"Well, I'll be, Thora. Looks like you got your wish."

"I guess so." The Berserker shrugged.

"So, what are you going to name him?"

"Hmm," Thora thought for a moment, "I think maybe just…Strike!"

Upon hearing the name, the Skrill hummed and nudged the girl. She laughed and stroked his head.

"I think he likes it." Hiccup smiled.

"Okay, Strike it is then!"

Suddenly, another voice interrupted the conversation.

"Hey, Hiccup!"

The group looked up and saw the twins coming in for a landing.

"Tuff, what is it?" Hiccup asked, concerned.

"You're not going to believe it!" Tuffnut replied. "Now that Alvin has kicked the bucket, Dagur has taken over the Outcast tribe as well!"

"What?!" Thora exclaimed.

"He said that they would get Berk back if they joined him." Ruffnut said. "Plus, he can be very persuasive with that axe of his."

"Yeah, and both fleets are getting ready to head out and attack Berk." Tuffnut concluded.

"Oh, this bad." Hiccup groaned. "We gotta come up with a new plan."

Thora looked down at the ground for a moment and then back at her dragon. Strike looked up at her with concerned eyes, as if he understood the situation. The girl then looked over at his back and her eyes narrowed a little.

"Hiccup," she said, "I can help you this time. But I need you and the twins to do me a favor."

"What kind of favor?" the Berkian asked.

"Keep an eye on Dagur for me." Thora replied. "There's something I need to get. I'll join up with you as soon as I can."

Hiccup nodded and then ordered the twins to follow him. As the dragon riders flew off, Thora and Strike quickly and carefully made their way back to the Outcast stronghold.

* * *

Thora opened the door to the room that was reserved for her when she and her tribe arrived to Outcast Island. She immediately ran over to an old chest at the end of the bed and opened it.

"Okay, father," she whispered, "let's see if your inventions work."

* * *

Hiccup and the twins hid behind one of the sea stacks as Hiccup tried to formulate a plan.

"Okay, we have to approach this carefully."

"Let's go in and blast those ships!" Tuffnut suggested with excitement.

"We can't take on an armada that size!" Hiccup said. "There's too many of them!"

At that moment, a voice came from behind.

"Then how about we even the odds."

Everyone turned their heads to see Thora and Strike flying towards them with Thora on the dragon's back..

Now, Thora was donned with what seemed to be a jacket, gloves, leggings and boats that were covered with scale-like chainmail. On the jacket and over her head was a hood that was also covered with chainmail. The only thing that could be seen under that suit was her face, not even her braided side ponytail was visible.

"What kind of get-up is that?" Tuffnut asked when he saw the metal outfit.

"An invention my father made that helps against lightning." Thora replied.

"But it's made completely out of metal." Ruffnut pointed out. "I thought lightning was attracted to metal."

"I'll explain it all later." Thora said. "Right now we need to focus on stopping the armada."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Ruffnut groaned.

Thora turned to Hiccup.

"Hiccup," she said, "do you remember what happened when Strike and Toothless' shots combined?"

The young boy thought for a moment. His eyes widened slightly when he remembered that fight yesterday.

"Yeah." He finally said.

"The Skrill and the Night Fury are known to be rivals." Thora smirked. "Now let's see what happens when they team up."

"Okay, I'm up for it. How about you, bud?"

Hiccup looked at Toothless, how replied with a grunt and a sharp nod.

"You willing to cooperate, Strike?" Thora addressed her dragon.

Strike looked at his rider and gave a sharp nod.

"Hey!" Ruffnut asserted. "What about us?!"

"You guys force the soldiers off of the ship." Thora said. "We just want to take out the fleet and cause as little harm to the people as much as possible."

"Aw, where's the fun in that?" Tuffnut groaned.

Thora glared at the Berkian.

"Guys, just do what she said." Hiccup defended.

"But first," Thora glared at the fleet, "there's something I need to do. You guys just wait for the signal."

"What signal?" Tuffnut said.

"Listen for "There, I said it"." Thora replied.

With that, she and Strike immediately flew off down toward the docks, leaving the others confused as to what she meant and what she was planning to do.

She arrived just in time to see Dagur and Savage get onboard the lead ship and ordered the fleet to move out. She then stopped Strike and he hovered right in front of the armada.

"DAGUR!"

At the sound of his name, Thora's brother looked up in both surprise and hatred. His anger boiled even more when he saw that she was decked out in father's crazy armor AND riding the Skrill.

"Thora!" he snarled.

"This is as far as you go, Dagur!" Thora said. "I have Strike and we're going stop you from destroying Berk!"

"You can't stop me, sister! I will take Berk and that Night Fury!"

"We WILL stop you! I'm done listening to you and following your orders! Which means I'm done with hiding THAT secret!"

Dagur's eyes widened in horror for a moment and then narrowed into a fearful scowl.

"Thora, don't you dare!" he threatened.

Thora ignored her brother and looked up at the rest of the fleet.

"Berserkers!" she forcefully addressed. "The story Dagur told you of Osvald's passing is a lie! He wasn't assassinated by a dragon!"

"THORA…!"

Dagur reached for his crossbow and aimed it at the dragon rider. Strike saw his action and shot white fire at it. The lightning hit the crossbow, knocking it out of Dagur's hands and into the water.

Thora raised her voice again and shouted at the top of her lungs:

"DAGUR USURPED HIM! HE USURPED OSVALD!"

There was a simultaneous gasp of shock from the crowd, both from the Berserkers and Outcasts. Hiccup and the twins also stared in disbelief at the news.

Osvald was killed by his own son?! Unbelievable, even for Dagur!

Enraged and knowing he was caught, Dagur fixed a poisonous scowl at the new dragon rider. Thora returned the gaze with a confident glare.

"There, I said it!"

At the sound of the signal, Hiccup and the twins emerged from their hiding place and flew down toward the fleet.

The twins' dragon was the first to attack. They released a huge amount of gas at the front of the armada and ignited it. The ships in the front a caught fire, making the Vikings bail out and swim away.

"Ruff, Tuff," Thora commanded, "keep that up as much as you can! Hiccup, you ready?!"

"Just waiting on you!" Hiccup nodded.

"Okay!"

On simultaneous commands, Toothless and Strike let off their shots. Their attacks combined and created that big ball of electrical energy of blue, purple, and white. The sphere grew and knocked the ships away, causing them to collide with each other as well as enormous waves that washed the other ships away or caused them to capsize.

"It's working!" Thora cried with delight. "Fire, Strike!"

"Go, Toothless!"

After three more attacks, the dragon riders had succeeded in taking out the armada. Thora looked over on the shore and was also relieved to see most of the Berserkers were unharmed. Dripping wet and winded, but none were suffering serious injuries.

The moment they took out the armada, all four riders and their dragons flew off toward the horizon.

Dagur, too angered to speak, viciously stared at the riders. He clenched his fists, silently vowing that he would have revenge on Thora for exposing his crime.

After he helped the other Berserkers back onto shore, Vorg looked back to where Thora flew off and gave a small, brief grin. She had finally found the strength that he and her father always knew she had.

* * *

"That was awesome!" Tuffnut shouted. "That was like the biggest explosion I have ever seen!"

"I know!" Ruffnut grinned. "We should take out Berserker and Outcast fleets more often!"

"Are they always like this?" Thora smirked.

"Pretty much." Hiccup shrugged. "So, what are you going to do now, Thora?"

"Well, I can't go back now even if I wanted to. Dagur will just see me as a traitor. And he's not going to forgive me for revealing what he did. But I've got Strike, now. We can probably get by with just going from island to island."

"I think I have a better idea." Hiccup said. "How about you come back to Berk with us?"

Thora blinked at the invitation.

"There's always room for one more." Hiccup continued. "Plus, I did say I'd help you train your dragon if you ever got one, didn't I?"

"I guess you did." Thora smiled slightly. "Okay, and I'm sure I can be of use back on Berk. What do you say, Strike?"

The Skrill looked back at his rider and gave a small, sharp nod.

"That's a "yes"." The Berserker replied.

"Okay then." Hiccup turned toward the twins. "Guys, let's go home."

"Thought you'd never ask." Ruffnut smirked.

"I am going to miss some of those Outcasts guys." Tuffnut admitted. "They can really carry a tune."

"I know, right?" his sister agreed.

"Well, I won't miss Dagur, that's for sure." Thora said.

With that, the triumphant heroes flew back to Berk.

Thora glanced back for a moment, suddenly realizing that she was finally free from Dagur. She was now on her way to a new home with some old and new friends. Although she was leaving an old life behind, she didn't feel like grieving about it too much. It was as if a weight had been lifted from her soul and the bindings that were forced on her had broken, allowing her soul to fly high into the skies.

She was finally free.


	9. Bonus Chapter: Let it Go

**Dragons: Thora's Story**

**Bonus Chapter**

**Let it Go**

**I watched Frozen recently, and I couldn't help but see how the song "Let it Go" had some parallels with my HTTYD fan character, Thora, and her story. So I thought of how the song could relate to her. Some of the wording is different, but it still fits with the song. It would take place after the "A View to a Skrill" story.**

**Bear in mind, that this doesn't actually take place in the story; it's just a small bonus I thought up. Think of it as a music video of sorts. Another thing, the song half is written as if it was a stage production. At least I hope it's written like one as well I as I could make it. I would recommend listening to the song while reading this as well.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own "Let it Go", "How to Train Your Dragon", or "Rider/Defenders of Berk"; I am merely exploring an alternate story.**

* * *

The clouds concealed the light of the moon and stars, yet the sky was lit up the flashes of light all around. The air was dense with a static sensation as thunder crackled and lightning flashed across the horizon.

Among the commotion, a Skirll with a rider on its back glided through the sky and landed on a nearby island.

Thora slipped off of Strike's back, took her hood off, and patted the side of her dragon. The Skrill responded with a small purr, causing lightning to crackle and spark along his body. The static didn't bother Thora one bit thanks to her father's special jacket. The metal chainmail covering attracted the lightning away from the girl and dragon absorbed it again.

"Well, Strike," Thora sighed, stroking the Skrill's head, "looks like it's just you and me now."

(Music from "Let it Go" starts as the two friends walk across the beach. Thora looks around and starts to sing.)

"_The sand glows white on the shoreline tonight,_

_Not a footprint to be seen._

_An island of isolation,_

_And it looks like I'm the queen._

_The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside._

_Couldn't keep it in_

_Valhalla knows I tried."_

(Thora picks up her walking pace.)

"_Don't let them in,_

_Don't let them see,_

_Be the good girl you always have to be._

_Conceal,_

_Don't feel,_

_Don't let them know!_

_Well, now they know!"_

(Strike takes off and circles gracefully around in the sky. Lightning strikes all around him in time with the music.)

"_Let it go. Let it go._

_Can't hold it back anymore._

_Let it go. Let it go._

_Turn away and slam the door._

_I don't care what he's going to say._

_Let the storm rage on._

_The lightning never bothered me anyway."_

(Thora a little further into the island.)

"_It's funny how some distance_

_Makes everything seem small."_

(Thora looks across the sea.)

"_And the fears that once controlled me_

_Can't get to me at all."_

(Thora turns around and runs up the hill. She stops at the top.)

"_It's time to see what I can do."_

(Strike swoops down overhead, lands, and lowers himself for Thora to mount onto him.)

"_To test the limits and break through."_

(Thora runs up and mounts onto Strike.)

"_No right,_

_No wrong,_

_No rules for me._

(Strike stands up and the two prepare to take off and Thora pulls her hood over her head.)

"_I'm free!"_

(Strike takes off.)

"_Let it go! Let it go!_

_I am one with the wind and sky!_

_Let it go! Let it go!_

_You'll never see me cry!"_

(Lightning begins to strike the Skirll in time with the music.)

"_Here I stand_

_And here I'll stay!_

_Let the storm rage on!"_

(Thora and Strike begin to fly higher and spin around in the sky, lightning striking them from everywhere.)

"_This power flurries through the air into the ground._

_My soul is spiraling in blazing white fire all around._

_And one thought crystalizes like a lightning blast."_

(Thora looks behind her.)

"_I'm never going back._

_The past is in the past!"_

(Thora throws her hood off and lets her braided hair flow freely.)

"_Let it go! Let it go!_

_And I'll rise like the break of dawn."_

(The sun starts to rise.)

"_Let it go! Let it go!_

_That quiet girl is gone!"_

(Strike lands on the outcrop of a small island.)

"_Here I stand_

_In the light of day!"_

(Thora draws her sword.)

"_Let the storm rage on!"_

(Thora holds her sword up in the air, Strike lets out a roar, and lightning flashes all around them. Thora then lowers her sword and grins.)

"_The lightning never bothered me anyway."_

(Thora puts her sword away and the two fly off into the sky.)


	10. Chapter 9: The Flight Stuff Part 1

**The Flight Stuff Part 1**

After the group had returned to Berk yesterday, Thora and her dragon was welcomed into the community under the condition that she would keep a sharp eye on the Skrill given his unpredictability. She agreed to the terms as long as she didn't have to lock Strike up in a cage again. Fortunately, while Strike certainly had a mind of his own, he seemed to understand the weight of the situation and stayed with Thora as much as he could.

When Hiccup told Stoick what Dagur did to Osvald, the Berk Chief was both shocked and angered. Even he had never expected Dagur to commit such treachery, and against his own tribe, too. Despite that, Stoick welcomed Thora to Berk, offering both respectful hospitality and his condolences with the utmost sincerity.

As a week went by, the Berserker rogue experienced many things she couldn't quite describe. On Berk, while she still received suspicious glances from folks, mostly because Strike always walked beside her, many Berkians greeted her with courtesy. Seeing this community warmed her soul, reminding her of how things used to be when her father was alive.

Unlike Dagur, Osvald cared for his people: he asked them how their day when, knew all of them by name, never forced them to fight unless absolutely necessary, and almost always knew how to settle an argument without violence.

Very much the opposite of how her brother managed things. All Dagur cared about was slaughtering dragons, violence, and doing anything to get what he wanted.

But that didn't matter to Thora anymore; she was out of his grasp and he couldn't reach her at all.

Berk was her new home now, and she was beginning to love it.

When it was about the third day since she first came to the village, Hiccup and Astrid began training Thora and Strike, starting with teaching them how to use hand signals. Fortunately, they soon found that both the Berserker and Skrill were fast learners and picked up on the techniques quickly. Eventually, the lessons moved onto learning how to maneuver in the sky in tricky situations and establishing Thora Dragon Call.

Every now and then, Toothless and Strike would have small roaring fights, which were always eventually broken up by their riders. Thora figured that they still haven't worked out their differences, especially after that little chase the other day. However, as the days went on, the dragons' quarrels grew less and less frequent. While they still didn't trust each other completely, they at least began to respect each other.

As for Thora's relationship with Strike, the bond between them began to grow with each passing day. Wherever the girl when, the Skrill followed her. Even when Thora was doing some of the most mundane things like standing on the edge of the village and staring out at the sea, Strike would stand by her side.

Sometimes he would give her a small shock of static, but only to get a reaction out of her or see the hair at the end of her ponytail stand up on end. While it did irritate Thora to a degree, she could tell that he was just doing it for fun. If nothing else, the small shock always kept her on her toes.

However, nothing compared to what their favorite activity to do was: flying at night during a lightning storm.

On the sixth day, a huge storm lit up the sky, making Strike eager to ride the lightning bolts. Seeing the streaks of white fire flash across the sky made Thora feel confident and daring. She was ready to break the limits and do what no other Viking had done before.

Together, the rider and dragon soared through the sky with tremendous grace and strength, making the lightning bolts dance all around them. From the view of Berk, it was certainly a sight to behold.

"I think I'm starting to see why she's a Berserker." Hiccup shrugged as he watched the Skrill soar through the storm from inside his house.

"It's because she's "berserk" enough to dare the impossible." Astrid smirked.

For Thora, flying among the thundering clouds was an exhilarating sensation. The energy from the clouds wrapped all around her and gave her a sense of power. This was only something she and Strike could do, and they cherished every moment of it.

Thora and Strike were free.

On the eighth day, Hiccup opened up the Dragon Training Academy. Before they began class, the Berkian asked Thora if she could talk about what she knew about Skrills since he figured her people would know the most about it, given that it's their symbol. Also, that knowledge could help them against Dagur in the future. Although she was a little nervous about speaking in front of people, Thora agreed.

Pretty soon, Thora found herself and Strike standing up in front of the other dragon riders.

"Wait, where's Snotlout?" Hiccup asked in a slightly irritated voice.

The other riders looked at each other and shrugged. Although being late wasn't past Snotlout's usual behavior, he was never this late.

"Oh, never mind." Hiccup shook his head. "We'll just start without him."

"So, what are we talking about today?" Tuffnut asked.

"Well," Hiccup cleared his throat, "as you all know, our newest member, Thora, has a Skrill as her dragon. Today, she has volunteered to give us some advice in the regards to a Skrill. So, Thora, the floor is all yours."

Taking a deep breath, the young shield-maiden stepped forward and swallowed hard, finding her voice.

"Okay," she said, "first of all; I want to thank you all for letting me into the Academy. And I promise that Strike and I will help out in any way that we can. Now, onto discussing the Skrill, what do you want to know?"

Immediately, Fishleg's raised his hand. Thora saw his action and pointed to him.

"Um, about your outfit," the studious Viking said, "why is it covered with chainmail? Isn't that dangerous to have on when riding a Skrill?"

"Normally, yes." Thora nodded. "However, my father was very interested in these dragons and studied them as much as he could when he got the chance. One of the things he did was an experiment to see what materials attracted lightning and which ones didn't. After a few experiments, he finally invented this suit. The chainmail attracts the lightning away from the person wearing it. Observe."

Thora put her hood up, looked over at the Skrill, and gave a hand signal.

"Strike, flare up!"

The dragon obeyed the command and static ignited all over its body. Thora reached out her hand and one strand of lighting lashed out and began to jump around the metal on the girl's hand and arm. She was quite pleased when she saw the reaction she got from the crowd was one of amazement.

"Good boy, Strike," she smiled, giving him signal to stop.

The Skrill immediately settled down and lowered himself the ground. Thora then walked over and unstrapped his saddle. She then flipped it over to reveal a slab of metal on the bottom.

"It's also best if you have a specially made saddle like this one. The lightning is attracted to the metal plating. And underneath it is a special material that doesn't attract lightning, giving a little more security when riding a dragon like this."

"Interesting." Astrid said. "But that's quite an arsenal for wanting to ride a single dragon."

"Well, Hiccup has a special saddle for Toothless because of their handicaps, so what's your point?" Thora smirked. "No offense, Hiccup."

"None taken." the Berkian boy shrugged.

Astrid just smirked and shook her head slightly.

"Besides," the Berserker continued, "I can't tell Strike not to flare up when I'm riding him. It's his best weapon and unique ability. It would be trying to tell someone to stop breathing."

"Hey, I've got a question." Ruffnut raised her hand.

"Okay, what is it?" Thora asked.

"Does Strike really have a nasty attitude?" the Berkian twin grinned. "Because it would be awesome to see him in total rage!"

"Yeah!" Tuffnut enthusiastically replied. "That would be totally amazing!"

The Berserker girl let out a groan and walked over to her dragon.

"Look, it is true that Skrills are aggressive." She said as she scratched behind Strike's head, who seemed to hum contentedly at the action. "And for a while, it was doubted that they could even be trained at all. However, if you give them respect and show you're not a threat, then they can be quite calm and loyal."

"That kind of sounds like how one would train a Night Fury." Fishlegs pointed out, glancing at Toothless.

"I guess so," the redheaded girl shrugged, "Then again, I do believe the Skrill and Night Fury are part of the Strike Class. So that could explain why they have a lot in common."

Thora then fixed a glare on the twins, who stepped back slightly.

"AND if you two trouble-makers even TRY to get Strike angry, then you can expect an unpleasant visit from ME if he doesn't kill you first! Do I make myself clear?!"

"Crystal clear, ma'am." Tuffnut replied, seeing that this girl wasn't joking around.

"Good." Thora nodded. "Now, I'd like to move onto the subject of Dagur. After losing Strike AND having his crime exposed to the whole tribe, he's going to be more determined than ever to take out Berk. Fortunately, I have a pretty good idea of how he thinks. First off, while he is deranged and unpredictable, he does come up with some pretty good strategies. However, his plans usually have at least one flaw in them."

"And how can we identify that flaw?" Hiccup asked.

"It's either so obvious it's overlooked," the Berserker rogue explained, "or a small but crucial detail he himself has overlooked because he's arrogant and impatient. His biggest flaw is focusing on one thing. When he was here for the Treaty signing, his main goal was to expose Berk for training dragons. Now, I bet he wants to get vengeance as well as Toothless and possibly Strike, too. However, we can use that to our advantage if we…"

Thora never finished her sentence because at that moment, Snotlout burst into the Academy with Hookfang and Gustav following. The expression on the buff Viking's face was sheer panic.

"I'm going to kick the bucket!" he shouted.

The other riders groaned.

"Snotlout, do you mind?" Hiccup asked, irritated. "We're having a Dagur meeting."

"Dagur's here?" Tuffnut said with a slight hint of fear.

"Over the past week," Snotlout continued, "I've seen three of the five signposts to Valhalla!"

"WE KNOW!" the other riders groaned.

"You know?" the buff Viking looked as if they were offended. "And you're just standing there talking about stupid Dagur? One of your bravest and most treasured warriors is about to leave this world forever!"

"Look on the bright side," Tuffnut shrugged, "at least you'll be eternal paradise."

"So will we." Astrid sarcastically rolled her eyes.

"Joke all you want about me." Snotlout replied almost sadly. "But what about Hookfang? The thought of him without me for the rest of his life, it's just…"

"Are you done?" Thora glared.

"No," Snotlout said, "not even close. Though devastated and still in pre-mourning, Gustav has volunteered to carry on the Snotlout legacy."

"It's an honor," the little boy eagerly said.

"Please tell me he's not gonna to flying around saying "oy, oy, oy". Astrid groaned.

"That's a good idea." Snotlout said. "Gustav, make a note of that."

"Snotlout," Hiccup stepped forward, "the five signposts to Valhalla is nothing but an old wives' tale."

"Oh, yeah?" the buff Viking sneered. "Then why have I seen the flying fish, the weeping rocks, and the singing trees?"

"You probably saw a salmon spawning," Fishlegs dully said, "wet rocks on the beach, and a gust of wind."

"Besides," Thora folded her arms across her chest, "the five signposts to Valhalla are only suppose to happen to great warriors."

"Obviously," Snotlout grinned smugly, "what's your point?"

"Even if it were true, which it is not," Hiccup interjected, "you can't just pick someone to replace you."

"Well, you guys threw out my original plan."

"To bury Hookfang alive beside you?" Astrid pointed out.

"He would gladly sacrifice himself for his beloved master." Snotlout walked up to the Monstrous Nightmare.

Hookfang just glared at his rider, got up, and harshly flicked the Viking away with his tail. Snotlout practically flew across the arena and landed on his face.

"Okay," Hiccup sighed in frustration, "let's just say, for arguments sake, you've seen three of the five sign posts. It doesn't mean anything. There are still two left."

The moment the young boy finished his sentence, something brown and feathery dropped down right in front of Snotlout. The Viking looked up and screamed in terror and scrambled to his feet.

"Oh, no! Oh, no! The fourth signpost: the bird of death!"

"It's not the bird of death," Thora got down and examined the chicken, "it's just a dead chicken. It's not the same thing, right guys?"

"Sure it is." Ruffnut and Tuffnut replied simultaneously. "Defiantly. Bird of death."

"We're on the clock, little man." Snotlout knocked on Gustav's helmet. "We're starting your training immediately."

"Ugh, fine." Hiccup groaned as he mounted onto Toothless. "The rest of us need to keep an eye on Outcast Island. While we're gone, try not to take anyone else with you to "eternal paradise"."

"I make no promises," the buff Viking replied.

Thora nervously looked at the other riders mounting onto their dragons and then back at Strike. She wrung her hands together and shuffled her feet.

"Uh, Hiccup," she timidly said, "would it be alright if Strike and I stay here? We could help hold down the fort."

"You sure?" the boy asked. "We could really use your help."

"I…just want to make sure Snotlout doesn't cause any trouble."

"Hey!" the said Viking snapped.

Hiccup looked at Thora with confusion for a moment. The girl mustered as much self-control as she could to keep her face netural.

"Okay," Hiccup nodded, "you can stay here and hold down the fort."

"Thanks," Thora lightly exhaled in relief, "you guys just be careful, okay?"

With that said, the other dragon riders took off. Shortly after they left, Thora and Strike exited the arena and walked out to a small cliff overlooking the sea. The Berserker rogue let out a small sigh and stared out at the horizon. After a while, the Skrill nudged her shoulder, getting her attention. She turned her head and looked at Strike. The dragon looked at her with a worried and confused look. He didn't have to speak her language to know what he was thinking.

Why didn't she want to go with the other dragon riders?

"I'm sorry, Strike." Thora said in a low voice, stroked his head. "I know you wanted to go. But…I can't go back. And I don't want to risk your life, too. You saw what Dagur was capable of doing, and you just got a taste of it. I've had to LIVE with it for sixteen years. I don't want anyone to suffer that as well, especially you or my friends. But I've made my mind up about this: the past is in the past."

Strike stared at his rider. Thora then looked out over the ocean again and narrowed her eyes into a small scowl.

"And I am NEVER going back!"


End file.
